Christmas Cheer
by Lily Hanson
Summary: NS/JF: Just before Christmas, Tori's sister gets into an accident. She passes away and leaves her two year old daughter in Tori's care. But in her will, it mentions a second daughter. One Tori had no idea about. Read and Review!
1. Kalea

**Apparently, my last story wasn't review worthy. And seeing as I forgot my notebook at school I came up with another idea. Hopefully you guys like it. And read & review, because if not, I'll leave this story to my own eyes.**

**Disclaimer: Do not own. After all, I'm posting it here and not airing it on TV.**

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Tori walked to the front door and flipped the sign to "closed". She turned to her shop and groaned as she saw the mess the customers had left for her. She now understood why Kelly hated the holidays. To make matters worse, Tori's older sister and her niece were supposed to arrive in a few minutes.

The blonde took a quick look outside and shivered as she watched the snow fall. The ground had already been covered hours ago, but the snow hadn't let up. Hopefully her family would be okay driving.

"Hey, you gonna help me, or what?" Blake's voice called from the back, where he was putting boxes away.

"I thought Dustin was helping you?" Tori frowned, running to the back to give her friends a hand. Her sister would understand why there were surfboards all over the store.

"He was," Blake laughed, pointing to a pile of boxes with legs. Tori rubbed her temples before turning to the boys.

"Dustin, why the hell are you under the boxes?" she asked.

Though Dustin didn't move, his feet did. His left foot scratched his right leg before pointing to Tori.

"Well, long story short, Blake thought I couldn't reach the top shelf without the step ladder..."

"You couldn't, could you?" Tori asked.

"Oh no, I could, but then there was an avalanche, and boxes and now I made a fort!" Dustin exclaimed. Suddenly his feet disappeared under the boxes, causing Tori and Blake to exchange confused glances.

"What do you mean a fort?" Blake asked, squatting down beside the boxes, with Tori. The blonde poked her head under the small hole for Dustin's feet and saw the former yellow Ranger, sitting happily under the boxes.

"Wow," she breathed.

"I know!"

"No... I mean... wow you're going to have _a lot_ of boxes to clean up," she smirked. Tori pulled her head out from the fort and walked back to the store. While she got back to cleaning, Blake pulled the boxes off the top of Dustin's fort.

"So, any idea why Tori's sister and niece are coming to town?" Blake asked. He put the box on one of the shelves.

"It's Kalea's second Christmas," Dustin explained. "She spent her first one with her father's family, but can't spend the second one with him because of the divorce."

"Tor's sister is divorced?" Blake frowned.

"Yep, turns out, the dude didn't give a damn about her or Kalea," Dustin answered. "He moved to Europe and was never seen again."

"All this, in less than a year?"

"Yep," Dustin sighed. "Kalea has no idea why daddy isn't around, and Erica's just trying to cope with it all."

"So, where are they coming from?" Blake asked. "Kalea isn't a name from around here."

"Erica's the last member of the Hanson family to stay in Hawaii," Dustin smiled. "Erica lives there, but came down here to see her parents and Tori."

Blake shook his head and the boys continued to put away the boxes, while waiting for Erica and Kalea to arrive.

----

The phone rang, waking up the three people in the store. Tori reached for it, nearly dropping it twice as her eyes readjusted themselves to the light, and answered.

"Tori's Custom surf... hello?" she said, too lazy to name her store.

"Miss Hanson?" a voice asked on the other end. Tori was suddenly wide awake. She nudged her two friends, bringing them out of their sleep.

"Uh... no... please... I'll... she... I'll be right there. Thank you," Tori said before hanging up the phone. She rushed out of the store, leaving Blake and Dustin alone.

"What time is it?" Dustin yawned, stretching his arms. Blake turned to the clock and frowned.

"Time to hit the sack," he said, letting his head fall back on the counter. "Hunter's going to kill me if I wake him up now."

Dustin turned to the clock and realised it was three in the morning.

"Dude! Shit!" he yelled, grabbing his coat and reaching for his car keys. "Kelly's going to kill me!"

"Good luck with the Mrs, dude!" Blake laughed.

Dustin groaned, realising he was in for hell. Just as he reached the door, he turned back to Blake. "Where's Tori?"

Blake's head shot up and the Navy Ranger looked around the store.

"You go home, I'll see where she disappeared too," Blake said. "See ya in the morning."

---

Dustin quietly closed the bedroom door and got in his boxers before crawling into bed. He reached out to cuddle with Kelly, but only found air.

"Not her too," he groaned, rolling over and turning on the light. He noticed her pyjamas were still hiding under her pillow, meaning she had never gone to bed.

Slowly, he pulled himself out of bed and looked around. He checked her office, where she spent many hours after work. When he didn't see her, he went downstairs.

He found her curled up on the couch, flipping through the channels on TV. He sat down beside her and tried to cuddle up with her, but she moved over.

"Kel, you're not mad, are you?" he asked, but Kelly remained silent.

"Honey... Kelly... whatever I did... I'm really, really sorry!" Dustin pleaded, trying to get closer to his wife, but she refused any and all contact with him. "And, I'm sorry I don't know what I did! And I'm sorry that I have to be sorry that I didn't know what I did! And..."

"Just go to bed," Kelly frowned, turning off the TV. She picked up one of the throw pillows and threw it at Dustin.

"Kel..."

Kelly tossed him the blanket and left the TV room. Dustin groaned, pulling the small blanket up and resting his head on the arm of the couch.

His nose picked up a familiar smell. He turned to the garbage bin Kelly had moved to beside the couch and looked inside.

He finally knew why he was sorry. Inside the garbage was the dinner Kelly had made for the two of them, with burnt out candles and a broken plate. Though it was dark in the room, Dustin recognised the hamburger patties and the French fries. All of which were made from scratch.

Kelly normally wasn't one to make a dinner of only burgers and fries, but one look at the calendar, and Dustin remembered why.

"I am so screwed!" he sighed, ripping the calendar off the wall. It was his and Kelly's first anniversary, and he had missed it. Kelly had done all that work, and he didn't even show up.

Dustin threw off the blanket and ran for the kitchen; he was going to be up all night.

---

Tori ran down the street, avoiding all the stopped cars. She even had to jump over a few cars to get to the three car pileup that had caused all the traffic. After convincing the police officers she knew some of the people in the accident, she found the chief.

"Miss Hanson, I believe we spoke on the phone," the officer said. Tori nodded, her eyes never leave the scene of the accident.

"What happened?"

"One car hit another, and the third car was just in the wrong place at the wrong time," the chief said, tired of explaining everything. The reporters were enough.

The chief pulled out a driver's license and a cell phone. "I believe these belong to your sister."

Tori's eyes widened. There would only be one reason why the officer would be giving her her sister's stuff.

"I'm sorry," the chief said.

"There was a baby," Tori said. "Kalea! What happened to her?"

"The paramedics are taking her to the hospital right now," the chief explained. "Nothing fatal..."

"Can I get a ride?" Tori asked. Her hands were too shaky to even hold the license and cell phone.

---

The following morning, Kelly pulled herself out of bed. Dustin had been making way too much noise, and she was ready to give him an earful about it.

She made her way down the stairs and turned into the kitchen.

She was surprised to see Dustin, covered in flour, in the middle of the messy kitchen. On the table, there were pancakes, fruit salad, juice, coffee, sausages and bacon.

"Oh. My..."

"Kelly," Dustin smiled, walking up to his wife and pulling her into a hug. "I'm really sorry I forgot our anniversary! And I would have been there, but the surf shop needed more help then I though, and I know that I shouldn't give you excuses, but you mean the world to me and I don't want to screw this up..."

"Dustin..."

"And I stayed up all night making you the best breakfast just to tell you sorry! And I would have made more, but the flour kinda exploded on me, so I only had enough for pancakes..."

"Honey..."

"But if you want anything else I can run to the store and buy it! I would make it but as you can see the flour's all over the kitchen! Unless you don't mind some flour I rescued while sweeping because I could..."

"Will you shut up?" Kelly giggled, kissing her husband. "This is more than enough... it's... wow."

"You mean... you're not mad anymore?" Dustin asked. He looked down at Kelly with and innocent face. Kelly looked up at Dustin and her face softened.

"Aww," she smiled, kissing him again. "I can't stay mad at that, especially when I smell eggs!"

The phone rang as Dustin dumped the eggs into a bowl. Kelly smiled at her husband and told him to wait a minute while she picked it up. She saw from the caller ID that it was Tori.

"Tori, can we talk later? Dustin and I are.... what?"

Dustin looked up from his chair when he heard Kelly's serious voice.

"You're kidding?"

Again, Kelly was completely serious.

"Kel," Dustin called softly. "Not the time to start one of your long conversations with Tor-"

Kelly shushed him, putting her finger to her mouth as she continued to listen to the blonde on the other end. "Okay, we'll be right there. Just hold on..."

Kelly hung up the phone and pulled Dustin away from the table.

"Get your coat," she said, throwing him his yellow winter jacket. "Tori's in the hospital."

"WHAT?" Dustin frowned.

"Her niece is there... Kalea..."

"Yeah, I know who Kalea is... but... what?"

"Erica was in an accident. She passed away, and Kalea's just being looked over," Kelly explained. "We're going to meet the others there."

---

"... then the princess and the stable boy lived happily ever after," Tori said, as she finished reading a fairy tale to her niece.

Kelly was the first one to go into the room. The doctors only wanted a maximum of two people at a time to visit Kalea. And Kelly had known Tori since the two girls were kids, so it felt natural for her to be the first.

"Aunt Tobi, who is that?" little Kalea asked, pointing to Kelly. Tori turned to the door and saw the red head. She pointed to a chair that was sitting in the corner, before looking back at her niece.

"Kalea, that's Aunt Kelly," Tori smiled, holding her niece's hand.

Kalea sunk back into her pillow as she acted shy. Tori smiled and pulled Kalea on her lap, careful not to rip off any of the wires. "Aunt Kelly won't bite," she laughed. "She's very, very nice."

Kelly smiled at the little girl and pulled out a little toy from her pocket. Kalea hesitantly reached for the toy, but pulled her hand back before she could reach it. She looked up at her Aunt.

"Go ahead," Tori smiled, hugging the small girl. Kalea turned her attention back to Kelly and the toy. She grabbed it from the red head and smiled, but failed to notice the piece of string coming from its back.

Suddenly, the toy started singing Jingle Bells.

"Whoa!" Kalea smiled, hugging the stuffed Rudolph.

The two year old finally started rubbing her eyes with her fists, and yawned as she pulled the string again to listen to the song. Tori put the child back in her bed and tucked her in before leading Kelly to the hallway.

"How are you holding up?" Kelly asked as the two reached the waiting room. Tori slumped into a chair and sighed.

"I have to take care of her now," Tori said, pulling out a photocopy of Erica's will. "Well, her and her sister."

"Dude, she has a sister?" Shane asked, ripping the will away from Tori so he could see for himself. "That's not right!"

"I know... weird, huh?" Tori smiled. "I never knew she had another daughter."

"It says here that she was born in 1990... But we were like... six years old then," Shane stated.

Tori glared at her former leader. They had known each other for a few years before the Ranger deal, and had quickly become best friends. "Erica's ten years older, remember?"

Shane laughed nervously as he remembered.

"What's weird is... I don't remember her ever having a stomach," Tori thought aloud. "There was no way she was pregnant then."

"I remember her getting a little bigger before going to boarding school for a semester," Kelly said. "She came back in grade twelve and seemed a little upset about something."

"I guess I'll never know what happened," Tori frowned. "Erica's gone; mom and dad were gone a long time ago..."

"Grandparents?" Hunter suggested.

"Gone."

"Aunts, uncles?" Cam asked.

"Mom was an only child, and dad's brother was a fireman... need I say more?" Tori frowned.

"I'm sorry about this, Tori," Dustin said, pulling his friend in a hug. "But if it helps, that just means you're like... the smartest person in your family! You're the oldest! You're like, the go-to aunt for wise words! Dude, you're like Sensei!"

All the Rangers, and Kelly, groaned.

"Dustin, age doesn't make you wise, experience does," Sensei explained.

"Well, you're a step closer than everyone else..." Dustin said, sinking back into his seat.

"Miss Hanson, Kalea is looking for you," a nurse said, poking her head into the waiting room. Tori nodded, before turning to Kelly and Cam.

"Can you two do me a favour and look for Lillian Chilman?" Tori asked. "So far, I'll I've gotten was that she goes to a private school. If mom wants me to take care of her, I'm sure she's kept in touch with her."

Cam and Kelly both nodded, before leaving the aunt to care for Kalea.

**Don't forget to review! :)**


	2. Death is Permanent

**Btw, this story starts off Lily/Theo, because it takes place soon after the end of JF, but it's slowly going to turn into a Caly. Don't worry all you Theo/Lily fans, it's not going to be a nasty break up. I like Theo and Lily together... but just as friends.**

**Thanks for all the reviews, and don't forget to review this chapter! The more reviews, the more motivated I am to update soon.**

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"I'm pretty sure it's diet, but if you want, I can get you another glass," Lily said, taking the soft drink away from the customer and walking into the kitchen. She slammed the glass on the table and put a lemon wedge on the rim.

"I thought you said you were getting them another one," Theo laughed, watching as his girlfriend topped off the drink with diet.

"I pushed the diet button, right?" she asked. Theo nodded.

"I'm sure. It didn't work at first, so you had to disconnect the system and put it back," Theo laughed.

"Well, if they want diet, then they'll get diet," Lily frowned. She walked out of the kitchen, leaving the boys to the cooking.

"What's up with her?" Casey asked, tossing a pizza into the air.

"She got a call saying her mother passed away," Theo sighed. "And apparently she's been left in the care of an Aunt she's never met before."

"Ouch," RJ frowned.

"Well, it's really starting to change her," Theo frowned. "She's nothing like the Lily I first met."

"You're not changing your mind now, are ya, T?" Casey asked. "She just lost her mother, she can't lose her best friend."

"I dunno, we just started dating... I don't think I'm ready to be the guy with a mourning girlfriend," Theo said. "I'm more comfortable being her friend."

"Sounds to me like you were never relationship materiel from the start," RJ said softly.

"So far, we've only been friendly to each other... no big dates, no making-"

"Hold it right there, Theo! That's already too much," RJ yelled, putting up his hand.

"I'll try to find a good time to tell her," Theo sighed.

"Better do it soon, the longer you wait, the harder it gets," RJ called after the blue Ranger as he left for his break.

Back in the dining room, Lily and Fran were finishing up with the last customer, before closing down the store.

"Are you sure you don't want to head to the bookstore with me?" Fran asked. Lily shook her head.

"I was thinking of just spending some time alone," Lily said. "With Master Mao in the spirit world, and my mom gone... I kinda..."

"I get it," Fran smiled, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder. "But you have my number in case you want to talk?"

Lily once again nodded, before letting the bookworm out of the store. She waited until Fran safely reached her car, before attempting to close the door.

"Wait!" someone yelled, putting their foot in the door's path. Lily looked up at the person and smiled.

"JKP's closed for the night," she said.

"I'm not here for..." Tori looked up at the sign and frowned. "Pizza... I need to talk to Lillian Chilman."

_Please don't be her, please don't be her..._ "Um... that would be me... why?" Lily asked.

Tori looked at her niece and was shocked at how old she was. On paper, six years didn't seem like that small an age gap, but when she was actually face to face with her niece... it was different.

"You're mother... Erica Hanson... did you know she's..."

"Dead?" Lily asked, all the prep from her voice was gone. It was only this morning that she heard about her mother, and she didn't need a stranger to remind her about it.

"Okay, I guess you do," Tori said.

"Hey Lil, we were going to watch a movie tonight, did you wanna... oh... umm the store's closed," Casey said as his head appeared from the kitchen.

"Casey, can you tell the others to start the movie without me... I kinda wanna talk with my aunt alone," Lily said.

Both Tori and Casey were in complete shock. Casey for the obvious reasons. Tori had never mentioned she was Lily's aunt, so for the young girl to make such an assumption, and be right, was.... creepy.

"Oh... okay..." Casey disappeared into the kitchen, and Lily let the older woman into the store.

When the two were settled into a booth, Lily started tapping her fingers on the table nervously.

"Well, you know my name... can I know yours?" she asked.

"Tori... I was Erica's little sister," Tori smiled.

"Yeah, I kinda figured out that much," Lily said.

Tori looked at the clock and realised she didn't have much longer. She had to be back in Blue Bay harbour in a few hours, and with the snow it was going to take a lot longer to get back to Kalea.

"I'm assuming you know about the situation Erica put us in, and I wanted you to know that I'm more than ready to help you," Tori smiled. "I know it must be tough... but..."

"She was never really there, y'know," Lily confessed, looking away.

Tori's morpher, which Cam had turned into a watch, beeped, letting the blonde know she had to leave. Tori hated leaving Lily like this... but had to get back home to be with Kalea.

She grabbed a napkin and pulled out a pen from her coat. She wrote down her cell phone number and gave it to Lily.

"I really have to go," she said. "I really wish I could stay longer, but your sister needs me to be home soon. You can call me anytime you need to talk, but can you wait a few hours so I'm not on the phone while I drive through the snow. If something happens to me, I don't want Kalea to know I went out the same way as Erica."

As she babbled, Tori failed to realised she had let it slip that Lily had a little sister. But whether it was a half sister or not, Tori had no idea.

Lily, however, caught the slip. "Sister?"

Tori stopped and sighed. "Yeah... Erica had another daughter two years ago... I don't know if it was with the same father but..."

Tori's morpher beeped again.

"I really gotta go, Lily," Tori sighed, heading for the door. "I wish I didn't have to leave you like this, and I wouldn't if I could help it, but Kalea's already sick and I don't need her to worry..."

Lily grabbed her aunt's hand before she reached the door, and spun her around so the two were eye to eye.

"Can I, uh... can I come with you?" Lily asked. RJ had told her not to trust strangers so much after the incident with Camille, but Tori looked like her mother... and she was a Ranger. She wasn't completely defenceless.

Tori thought for a minute. It was a long drive back to Blue Bay, but it looked like Lily really wanted to go.

"Alright," Tori smiled. "We can talk some more in the car."

"Let me just tell the others," Lily said.

---

"Aunt Kelly," Kalea whispered, still not completely comfortable with the new faces. So far, she was comfortable with Kelly, but only because she had seen her Aunt and Kelly talking and the red head had given her a toy. "Will Santa give me peasants this year?"

Kelly smiled, "Of course he will. Why do you think he wouldn't?"

Kalea looked around the room. "I not home! And no chimenemy."

"Chimney?" Kelly asked. "Sweetie, Santa's still going to find you. And he doesn't need a Chimney!"

"He doesn't?"

"Nope," Kelly smiled, sitting on the bed next to the two year old. "He's got a magic button on his nose just in case boys and girls don't have chimney's. All he has to do is push the button, and he's inside the house!"

Kelly continued to explain Santa's magic nose, while the boys listened in. Hunter leaned over to Dustin and whispered.

"Y'know, I don't trust jolly ol' saint nick," he said. "I would never let him inside my house."

"I'm with you there, bro," Dustin laughed. "What parent would let a creeper like him inside their house? Especially when they have kids!"

Cam leaned in and joined the conversation. "You guys know Santa's not real, right?" he whispered. "He doesn't actually come in your house."

"Dude, I won't believe it!" Dustin frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. "I saw Santa when I was a kid! I saw him eat my cookies and drink my milk! My dad still has the stain in our carpet from when Santa dropped the glass!"

"I guess Kelly's going to be the one in the Santa suit once they have kids," Shane laughed.

Kalea crawled out of bed and ran to the window. "Whoa... it's waining white stuff!"

Dustin laughed as he got off his chair and picked the girl up. He blew on the window, causing it to fog up. He then drew a smiley face.

"Whoa!" Kalea giggled. She reached out and touched the window, but had to pull her hand back when she felt how cold it was. She tried to warm her hand in her hospital gown, but it was too thin.

Dustin adjusted Kalea in his hands so he could hold her with one arm. With his free arm, he reached out for her sweater and carefully put it on. Thankfully, the nurses took off the wires from Kalea not too long ago. They just wanted to keep her in the hospital for observation.

Now that she had a warm sweater on, Kalea reached out and put both hands on the window, squishing her nose on the glass as she watched the snow. Dustin laughed as he tried to hold Kalea up.

"Silly girl," he teased.

---

The car ride home started off quiet. No one really wanted to say anything to hurt the other person. They had both just lost someone special in their lives, but didn't know enough about each other to be able to avoid saying the wrong thing.

Tori decided to try starting a conversation.

"Erica never mentioned you," she said, choosing her words carefully. "I didn't know about you until yesterday."

"She had me when she was still a teenager," Lily explained. "She was so ashamed; she didn't even want to tell her parents."

"How did she hide it from them?" Tori asked.

Lily shrugged. "My mom mentioned something about pretending to go to boarding school... but she was really finding a home for me while she was back in Hawaii."

"Where did she leave you?" Tori asked.

Lily bit her lower lip. She didn't trust her aunt completely yet, but maybe telling one person about the Pai Zhuq wouldn't be so bad.

But all students were sworn to secrecy, no exceptions, unless your life was in danger.

_Wait a minute... Luan knows,_ Lily thought to herself. _He was in trouble and got caught up in it... but it was just one person... I know Master Mao would say something wise about one person turning into a million... but I swear this'll be the only time._

"Lily?" Tori called again, seeing as her niece was apparently no longer on this planet. "Lily?"

Lily snapped back to reality and smiled at her aunt. "Sorry, I was just thinking."

"About?"

Lily turned to Tori and exhaled deeply. "I have to tell you something... but you have to swear you won't tell anyone! It's a huge secret!"

Tori had to hide her smile. She had a few secrets of her own. She could understand why Lily was so protective of hers. She would guard the Wind Ninja Academy's secret with her life.

"I swear."

Lily looked up at Tori and saw she was completely sincere, but she was still hesitant.

Tori decided to help her out. "You can trust me on this," she said, never taking her eyes off the road, but trying to make eye contact with the younger blonde. "I don't care if it's something weird like... I hate spiders... or something huge like... like... you go to a secret ninja school. It's safe with me."

Lily's eyes widened in shock. Had she been the one driving, she would have slammed on the breaks. Fortunately, in this weather, she wasn't. So instead, she just stared at her aunt.

"How do you know?" she asked, her back pushing against the door and her arms gripping the dashboard and her seat.

"Know what?" Tori asked, taking her eyes off the road for a second to see her niece freaking out. "You're afraid of spiders?"

"No... well yeah... but not that!"

"The ninja school thing?" Tori asked, laughing. "Really? Wow..."

"It's not ninjas," Lily said. "We're trained in Kung Fu. There's also animal spirits..."

"The Pai Zhuq," Tori smiled.

"How do you know?" Lily asked.

"I'm a Sensei at the Wind Ninja Academy... it's kind of like... well the Pai Zhuq was founded first, then about a hundred years ago, the Wind Ninja Academy was made by a few masters," Tori explained. "It's a long and complicated history but..."

"Yeah... well, it's a small world, isn't it?" Lily smiled.

As Tori stopped at a red light, the van was silent once again.

"So... um... did you see Erica a lot?" Tori asked.

"Yeah... every few months she would come to Ocean Bluff and we would spend a week together. It was nice seeing her every once in a while," Lily explained.

"I bet it would," Tori smiled. "So she's still a big part of your life... even if she gave you up?"

"She didn't give me up... that's the beauty about the Pai Zhuq. When she found it... she explained her situation to Master Mao... now... he's like a father to me."

Seeing as all of Tori's questions were answered, for now, silence came back.

Lily looked out her window and smiled. "It's really snowing."

Tori smiled back. "I wonder how Kalea's doing... she's never seen snow before."

Lily's smile fell when she heard her sister's name.

"Umm... about Kalea... I..."

"Relax, "Tori smiled. "She's two years old and usually a very happy kid. I'm sure she'll love you."

Lily took a little comfort from her Aunt's words but didn't really know how to react.

"She looks kinda like you," Tori added.

"Really?" Lily asked.

Tori nodded and smiled. "Yeah... but she's shy around strangers. Normally I would encourage this... but maybe we can stop at a little shop in the hospital and we can pick up something for her."

"Why?" Lily asked.

"She warms up to people faster if they give her something she likes. I told Erica it was a bad idea to raise her like that... but she didn't listen."

"So, you're going to raise Kalea... and me... 'right'?" Lily asked, a little hurt.

"I wouldn't say that," Tori smiled softly. "I'm not trying to change the way Erica raised you... I just think having Kalea warm up to people that way is dangerous for her... and I think it might make her a little... well you know."

"Bratty?"

"Yeah."

"Then why are we doing it now?" Lily asked.

"She lost her father not too long ago, her mother passed away in an accident she's still recovering from, and her aunt just left her for the day with people she doesn't know. How much trauma do you want to put her through?" Tori laughed.

"Alright, I'll get her like... a little... I don't know what to get her!" Lily frowned. "I haven't even met her yet... what do you get your two year old sister who you've never met? A teddy bear?"

"No... no bears... especially plushed!" Tori warned her niece. She was laughing as she said it, but Lily knew that she was serious. "When I went to visit her for the first time, I took her to Build-a-Bear, and the person there freaked her out."

"How?" Lily laughed.

"Let's just say, seeing a person open up a bear by its back, stick a huge machine in the hole, and stuff stuffing inside until the bear is about to blow up, then dress it up in silly clothes, is too much for a one year old."

Lily thought for a second, then frowned. "I think I'm scared of bears now..." she laughed. "Well, now you're two for two. Bad Aunt, scaring your nieces like that the first time you meet them! Bad!"

Tori laughed, seeing Lily with a smile on her face had made the day worth it. She didn't plan on befriending Lily so soon, so to see that they were already bonding was nice.

---

Tori opened the door to Kalea's room quietly, but found she didn't need too. Inside, Dustin was giving the two year old an airplane ride, as Shane and Hunter pretended to be monsters. Tori hung her coat on the coat rack, and took Lily's as well.

"Kalea, can you guess whose home?" she called.

Dustin put the girl on the ground, and Kalea ran to her Aunt. Tori picked her up in a hug and kissed the top of her head, happy she was feeling better.

Suddenly, Tori felt Kalea hide her head in her shoulder. She laughed, and adjusted the girl so she could look at Lily. Kalea though still found a way to bury her head in Tori's chest.

"It's okay sweetie," she said. "When I was gone today... I found someone special."

Tori handed the girl to her sister. Kalea didn't like being held by a stranger and tried to squirm out. Lily was going to let her, but saw Tori shake her held.

Kalea started crying as she reached out for her Aunt. Tori took a step back and motioned for Lily to give her sister the present.

"Kalea, if you don't stop crying, how are you going to play with this?" Lily asked. She reached into her backpack and pulled out a stuffed cheetah. Apparently stuffed cheetahs were fine, but bears were off-limits.

Kalea saw the spotted cat and stopped crying. She took the cheetah from Lily and cuddled it.

"Aunt Tobi..." she sobbed, reaching out for her aunt. Tori shook her head and smiled.

"Say hello to Lily first," she said. Kalea looked at Lily, then back at her aunt, and shook her head.

"NO!" she yelled.

"But she gave you cheetah!" Tori smiled. Kalea hugged the toy again and looked up at her sister.

"Hi..." she whispered. Lily smiled.

"Hi," she said, confidently. "I'm Lily."

Kalea reached over for Tori, but Tori refused again.

"Tell her you're name."

Kalea started to pout, but turned to Lily.

"Kalea."

"See, that wasn't so hard," Tori smiled, taking Kalea back. "Wanna know something cool?"

"Yeah!" Kalea smiled, happy to be back with Tori.

"She's your big sister!"

Kalea was overjoyed to hear about a new sister. Her feelings for Lily changed completely as she tried to go back in Lily's arms.

"I want sitter!" she said, leaning over to Lily. The former yellow Ranger took the two year old out of Tori's arms, and smiled.

"Did you bring mommy with you?" Kalea asked.


	3. Tori's Surprise

**A/N: Sorry it took so long to update. The hardrive on my laptop was screwed up so I had to bring it in to get fixed. I lost what i had already written for this chapter and didn't feel like redoing it again. On top of that I hate the keyboard on my mom's computer ( I can't type properly with it). **

**All this to say, the next chapter probably won't be up soon, but I can try. It's just this stupid keyboard keeps messing me up. You don't wanna know how many times I pushed backspace for this author's note alone!**

**Please Read and Review! I hope you like it!**

* * *

Tori looked down at her niece in shock. Just yesterday she had explained to Kalea that her mother was not coming back, and now it was like she never had the conversation.

She was about to kneel down beside her niece, when Lily did it.

"Kalea, mommy's not going to come home. We're not going to see her again..."

"She's dead, right?" Kalea asked. "Like Killer?"

"Killer?" Lily looked up at her aunt and frowned.

"Her pet goldfish," Tori smiled. "It just swam around in a circle, in its little fish bowl. Just around, and around and around. The name is lost on me..."

Lily was happy Killer came up. Now that Kalea already had a taste of death, it was going to be easier a hell of a lot easier to explain why there mother wasn't going to come back.

"Yeah, mommy and Killer are in the same place."

"Toilet heaven?" Kalea asked.

"Umm, yeah," Tori smiled, sitting next to her nieces. "She's in heaven."

"Oh... okay...I guess..." Kalea sighed, looking down. "So, she's never coming home?"

"Nope," Lily said. "But I'll stay here with you, okay?"

---

"Tor, I thought you hated last minute Christmas shopping?" Shane asked as he carried red bags around the mall.

"I just need one gift," Tori said. "I'm the new Santa for the two girls so I need more than just one gift for Kalea and I need something for Lily."

"I'm sure she wouldn't mind anything less this year," Dustin frowned, carrying his own bags. "Just tell her Santa's trying to... save money on elves so he had less working and there were less toys made and he had to..."

"You're kidding, right?" Tori frowned. "Anyways, this gift isn't going to be from Santa."

"Alright," Dustin sighed as he and the other four Rangers turned into the last store.

"Here are your choices, don't be shy but hurry up!" Hunter begged.

"Why, afraid you boys are going to miss your cartoon Christmas specials?" Tori laughed. She was only teasing, but the way the boys' faces dropped she knew she had been right on the money. Even Cam was looking away.

"Sensei was right when he said you guys were pretty much just kids in big boy bodies," She laughed. "I'll be a quick as I can, I just need one."

"Alright, take this one," Blake said, pointing down in the cage that was holding the Christmas surprise. Tori looked down then back at Blake.

"It's cowering," she frowned, pointing to the little gift, hiding in the corner. "I can't give the girls one that's afraid of humans!"

"Okay," Shane said, wrapping his arm around Tori's shoulders and turning her to her second option. "How about that little guy?"

Tori looked down at the gift and smiled. Suddenly, it started bouncing around, knocking over all the others.

"You can work around the hyperactive little guy," Shane cooed, reaching down inside the cage, only to be bitten on the hand.

"No," Tori frowned. She stepped inside the cage and looked around. Her eyes spotted the perfect little gift, sleeping in the corner.

---

"Aunt Kelly!" Kalea yelled. She was sitting in her living room, only days after being checked out of the hospital. Lily was sitting down across from her, with the coffee table separating the two. On the table was Mouse Trap. "Lily's cheating!"

"Am not!" Lily yelled.

"Yahuh!"

"Nahuh!"

"Yahuh!"

"And Dustin wonders why I want to wait before having my own set of kids," Kelly frowned, rubbing her temples as she sat on the couch to watch the game.

"Why do you always get to be the lellow mouse?" Kalea asked her sister.

"Because, yellow is my color!" Lily smirked, turning the crank to set off the trap.

"Aunt Tobi said the same thing... but with the boo mouse!" Kalea told her sister. "Why can't I have a color?"

The cage fell over Kalea's mouse, making Lily the winner. She stuck her tongue out at her sister.

"AUNT KELLY!" Kalea yelled, at the top of her lungs. Kelly put her hands over her ears, blocking out the two year old's cries. "Lily's cheating!"

"Am not!"

"Yahuh!"

"Nahuh!"

"Yahuh!"

"Nahuh!"

"Yahuh!"

"Nahuh!"

"GIRLS!" Kelly yelled, effectively shutting them up. "Stop fighting."

"She started it!" both girls yelled, pointing to the other.

"Please come home, Tori," Kelly groaned, dropping back and sinking into the couch.

"Can we play 'gain?" Kalea asked, watching her sister put the game away. Lily nodded, quickly setting up the board game again. Kelly tried shaking her head no, but Lily ignored her. All the red head could do at this point was to slam her head against the back of the couch.

"Wait!" Kalea yelled, putting her hand over her sisters. "I hear someone!"

Just as she finished, the doorbell rang. "I got it! I got it!" Kalea called, jumping up from the floor to answer the door. When she opened it, she saw RJ, standing there with his suitcases.

"Is Lily here?" he asked.

"LILY! There's a fluffy man at the door!" Kalea yelled.

"Fluffy man?"Lily asked Kelly as she got up. "Oh... she might mean..."

Lily laughed when she saw RJ at the door, brushing his hand over his face. "What did she mean by fluffy?" he asked.

"I think she meant you need to shave," Lily smiling, picking up Kalea and hugging her friend. As she broke away, she saw Theo, Casey, Dominic, Fran and Camille coming up the driveway. "Where's Jarrod?"

"I asked him to watch the academy," Casey explained as he hugged his friend. "He'll be here tomorrow though."

"There's more?" Kalea asked.

"She's cute," Casey smiled, messing up Kalea's hair.

"You're a bum!" Kalea frowned. She pushed Casey away and crossed her arms. "You squished me!"

Casey laughed nervously, realising Kalea must have been squished as he and Lily hugged.

"You're starting off on the wrong foot, bummy!" Kalea threatened.

"What happened to your usual 'I don't like strangers' attitude?" Lily asked.

"With Aunt Tobi gone, someone have to make sure your fwiends are okay!"

Dom was next to come in. He hugged Lily as well, but was careful not to squish the two year old. But that didn't stop Kalea from coming up with a name for him.

"EWW!" she frowned, holding her nose and pushing Dom away from Lily before the hug was finished. "You smell like Rhino butt!"

Lily had to hold back a laugh at Kalea's name choice for Dom. He didn't actually smell like Rhino butt, but there was a strong smell around him.

"That would be the garlic Fran put around my neck on the drive here," Dom laughed.

"Lily... Rhino butt's scary!" Kalea whined. She put her mouth to Lily's ear and held her hand up. "He's a vampire!" she whispered.

Theo was next. He hugged Lily, and kissed her cheek. Unfortunately for him, he kissed the cheek next to Kalea. The poor girl pulled herself away as far as she could and stared at the blue boy.

"Umm... umm...," for the first time today, the little girl was at a loss of words. She tried squirming out of her sister's arms, but Lily held her tight. "UMM!"

"Kalea," Lily laughed, kissing her on the cheek. "It's just Theo."

"Umm... umm..." Kalea frowned.

Before Camille and Fran got their turn at saying hi, Lily turned to the boys who were waiting in the hall. "Kelly can show you where you're going to sleep," she smiled.

"As long as it takes me away from you two... of course!" Kelly smiled, leading the boys up the stairs.

"UMM!" Kalea yelled as the boys walked away, her little finger pointing at Theo.

"Hey, Lily," Fran smiled, hugging her friend, careful not to get on Kalea's bad side.

"Hi," Lily smiled. "Kalea, this is Fran."

Kalea carefully examined the first girl to enter the house. "So far, there was nothing wrong with her. "Hi Fan!"

"No, it's Fran," Lily laughed.

"I said that!" Kalea argued. "Fan!"

"It's okay... Fan's a good name too," Fran laughed.

"I like her!" Kalea smiled, hugging Fran. "But she smells like Rhino Butt!"

"That's the garlic," Fran laughed.

"Are you a vampire?" Kalea asked.

"No, only Dom is," Fran grinned.

"Dom?" Kalea looked up at her sister.

"You know... the blond guy, after Casey!" Lily tried to explain, but it was all lost on the two year old. "Rhino Butt."

"OH!" Kalea smiled.

Last but not least was Camille. Lily could already sense that she was uncomfortable around kids. After all, she had been evil for the past ten thousand years. There probably weren't very many kids hiding in a wall while Camille had been waiting for Dai Shi to return, and there weren't any in their lair.

"She won't bite," Lily teased, hugging Camille. "Unless... no... maybe I shouldn't tell you."

If Camille wasn't nervous before, she definitely was now. The chameleon was staring at the two year old as if it were one of her monsters, ready to attack at any minute.

"Lily, is she scared of me?" Kalea asked, pointing to Camille.

"She's not scared... just a little nervous. Like you when you first met me!" Lily explained.

"I shall call you Senior me!" Kalea laughed, hugging the nervous woman.

---

Late at night, Tori was sitting up in her bed. She was exhausted after meeting all of Lily's friends, setting them up in their rooms, setting Lily up in her room, and Kalea in hers.

She put her book down when she heard the door to her room open. She didn't see anyone walk in, but she could hear the footsteps. Suddenly, forty pounds jumped up on her bed, throwing Tori slightly off balance.

"Kalea? What are you doing?"

"I had a mightmare!" Kalea yelled. Tori quickly turned to her closet where she hide the girls' Christmas present, hoping it didn't make any noise after hearing it's soon-to-be-owner's voice. She sighed in relief at the silence.

The water sensei looked down at her niece and wrapped her in her arms. "What was the nightmare about?"

"Turtles," Kalea said, as if her Aunt was already supposed to know about her fear of turtles.

Tori raise her eyebrow at her niece. Normally when one eyebrow went up, it meant one of the boys was in shit, but this time, it told Kalea her aunt had no idea what she was talking about. Kalea was still only two years old, and though she knew her aunt very well, Tori had really only seen Kalea a few times in the past two years. She had gone to Hawaii for the girl's birthdays and other special events. She had made it for long weekends when the academy was closed and sometimes just to visit her sister and surf.

"Turtles?" Tori frowned. "Snapping turtles?"

"NO!" Kalea yelled, once again making Tori turn to her closet in fear.

"Lea, keep your voice down. Everyone's sleeping," she whispered. Kalea nodded, putting her finger up to her mouth, promising she would at least try.

"I wanna sleep here," she whispered. Tori smiled and pulled the blankets over the small girl.

"Alright, but remember, Santa Claus is supposed to come, so you have to fall asleep quickly," Tori said. As soon as Kalea was comfortable, she was asleep. Tori was about to get up to bring the presents downstairs, but quickly realised her arm was trapped under Kalea.

"Shit..." she whispered. She tried pulling her arm out, but stopped when Kalea started waking. "Now what...?"

Tori looked around the room for a way out. This was pathetic. She was one of the best ninjas in history, one of the youngest Sensei's ever and a master of stealth. She should have easily been able to get her arm out from under Kalea without waking the girl... but she couldn't.

"The phone!" she whispered, reaching over to her end table for the phone. She was glad the phone in Lily's room had a different number, the one she gave to the academy. After dialling the number, she waited for her niece.

---

Lily was fast asleep when the phone rang. She groaned as she checked the number.

_Hanson, Tori_

"You're kidding me, right?" she asked, picking up the phone, and then quickly hanging up. "Goodnight Tori."

Seconds later, the phone rang again, so she did the same thing.

For a third time in less than a minute, the phone rang. Lily did the same thing as before, but this time, after hanging up, she crawled out of bed and walked to her aunt's room.

"What?" she asked.

"SHH!" Tori scolded, pointing to a sleeping Kalea. "I'm stuck."

Lily held back a laugh. "I thought you were a sensei! A two year old has you pinned down!"

"Shut up and be Santa will you!" Tori frowned. "The gifts for tomorrow morning are in my closet. Can you please bring them downstairs to the tree?"

"Sure," Lily smiled.

"And act surprised!" Tori called out, before Lily even reached the closet. "Please."

"Aren't they all wrapped? I won't see them anyways," Lily smirked. Before grabbing the doorknob, Lily heard something scratch at the bottom of the closet door.

"I can't wrap up a puppy. That's just cruel!" Tori smirked, biting her lower lip. "Merry Christmas!"


	4. Daddy's Girls

**Well, I finally got my laptop back. Hopefully you guys are still out there. Reviews can get me back on track with this story! So read and review! And if this chapter sucks, then sorry. I'm trying to write with these characters in this situation. Hopefully it'll all come back to me.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"How about now?" Kalea asked, sitting in front of the Christmas tree, with her gifts by her side, still unopened. "Now? Now? Now? Now? Now?"

"Kalea," Tori warned, looking down at the girl. "Be patient. Aunt Kelly and Uncle Dustin still have to come."

Kalea sighed. "But they take forever!"

"Just be patient," Tori smiled. As soon as she heard the front door opened, she grabbed the video camera from the table beside her chair, and started filming. "Kalea, now!"

As soon as she got permission from her aunt, the two year old ripped off the wrapping paper from her first gift. Tori was thankful that she hadn't noticed the lack of gifts compared to her first Christmas.

"A titar!" Kalea exclaimed, holding up a child size toy guitar. The two year old put the guitar aside and reached for her second gift.

"Leah, hold on!" Tori laughed. "Your sister has to open a gift first."

Kalea looked up at Lily impatiently.

"Please hurry... I want my gifts!" Kalea asked, poking her sister's leg. Lily had no idea she was getting presents. Usually, her mother would buy her one gift over the holidays, and Master Mao would give her a second one. But with her mother and Master Mao both dead, she didn't expect anything. When she saw the puppy the night before, she was surprised Tori bought her something, but two things were... weird.

"Okay," Lily smiled, taking the gift her Aunt was offering her. She looked over at Theo, but the blue boy looked away. Lily found it odd, but the little finger poking her leg reminded her to open her gift. "Yeah, yeah Kalea, I'm going!"

Her friends laughed as they watched Lily open her gift. Kalea crawled up on Lily's lap and tried to help the eighteen year old with the wrapping paper.

"You have to rip it!" she instructed, as if the teenager had no idea how to rip open the thin layer of paper covering the present.

"I know Leah," Lily laughed.

When the two finally got the paper off, Lily smiled at the present. Kalea however, was confused as hell.

"Santa brought Liwy a picture fwame?"

Lily started to tear up as she flipped the frame around, showing her friends a picture of her and her mother, the day Lily was born. The frame was a plain wooden frame, but was carved with special designs. On the top was Lily's date of birth, April 4th 1990. On either side were names, Lily Chilman was on the right, and Erica Hanson on the left. At the bottom was a carving of the flower that had given Lily her name.

"'Santa' went through a lot of hard work, and had to make a lot of calls to get that information and to get that picture," Tori smiled. "After all, he couldn't ask you!"

Lily gently pushed Kalea off her lap, and walked over to hug her Aunt, whispering a thank you in her ear.

Kalea was numb to everything that was going on. "My turn now?"

"Okay," Tori broke away from the hug and looked down at her other niece. "Open your next gift."

Kalea ran under the tree and found her box. She opened it and found...

"Santa wipped me off!" she frowned, throwing the box away.

"Really?" Tori asked, kneeling next to her niece. "Aww, that's too bad."

"But... why?" Kalea asked, looking up at her Aunt with her beautiful blue eyes, which matched Tori's exactly.

"I think Santa knew I had a little surprise for you," Tori smiled, grabbing the small girl in her arms. She motioned for the others to follow as she walked to the laundry room.

The surfer put the girl down in front of the closed door and smirked. "Open it!"

Confused, Kalea slowly opened the door, and was surprised when she was attacked by a small Labrador puppy.

"KILLER!" she exclaimed, petting the excited dog.

"Killer?" RJ asked, turning to the Aunt.

"Goldfish, circles, I don't know why," Tori sighed, watching as both her nieces played with the dog. "Ready for breakfast?"

---

During breakfast, Lily had taken Tori away from the table. The two were now standing just outside the front door.

"Thanks... for the picture," Lily smiled, leaning awkwardly against the door and the doorframe, hugging herself to keep warm. "I never had a lot that belonged to my mom... and she was never really there... but it means a lot to me."

"I thought it would," Tori smiled. "I had no idea you existed until a few days ago, so I made _a lot_ of calls."

"I know," Lily laughed. "Mom never spoke about you... or my grandparents. And anytime I asked about my family, she changed the subject."

There was a long silence. Things were still weird with the two women. Neither really knew what to say to the other. Talking to Kalea was much easier.

"I um... I know you might not know the answer... but, did you know my dad?" Lily asked, looking at her feet.

Tori didn't know how to answer. She never knew Lily's father. Erica had two different boyfriends when she was sixteen. Either one of them could be Lily's father. On top of that, Tori was only six at the time. She didn't remember the guys her sister was with.

"I just... I want to know if Kalea's really my sister, or half," Lily said. "I want to know if I still have a family."

"Lils..." Tori said softly. "No matter what, Kalea's still family. And I'm here too. It's still weird, even for me... but no matter what, I'm here for you."

"Is there a chance you know my father?" Lily asked.

"I don't know... but those strings I pulled, to know your birth date and to get the picture. I can try to pull them again... maybe we can figure it out."

"Did my mom have a yearbook?" Lily asked. "The only thing I know about him, was that he was my mom's high school sweetheart."

"Yearbook..." the words rang a bell for Tori. Quickly, she opened the door and sprinted upstairs to her room.

"Where are you going?" Lily asked, following her aunt.

"Yearbook!" Tori answered, pulling clothes out of her closet. She used a stepladder and reached for the top shelf, pulling out a box titled _Erica's stuff_. She grabbed Erica's high school yearbook and flipped through the pages.

"Here we go!" she cried in excitement. "I found them!"

"Who?"

"The men!" Tori smiled, pointing to two pictures. "They were your mother's boyfriends just before she was pregnant with you. Both are possibilities."

"Okay... are you sure it wasn't him?" Lily asked, pointing to the second picture. The boy was named Jacob Chilman.

"Well, he's an option... but he was the first, out of the two, that Erica dated," Tori explained.

"But we have the same last name."

"If you know your mother, you should know, she's crazy," Tori laughed. "She could have given you his last name because she felt like it. I know that's how I got my middle name."

"Excuse me?"

"Erica felt like naming me water lily. My parents thought it was a weird first name, but used it for my middle name."

"Tori Water Lily Hanson... isn't that cruel?" Lily laughed.

"Ah, Victoria Water Lily Hanson," Tori smirked. "They promised Erica she could name me... and try breaking your promise to a ten year old!"

"Seriously... water?" Lily giggled. She didn't want to be rude... but the name was just too weird.

"It's actually without the water part," Tori smiled as Lily realised she and her aunt had something in common. "But my parents and Erica always used to add it, that it became my unofficial nickname."

Lily grabbed the yearbook and looked at the pictures of the two men. "Alright, so thanks to my weirdo mother, it could be any one of these two?"

"Yep... but we're in luck. Chilman married your mother and is Kalea's father," Tori smiled, sitting on her bed.

"Where is he now?" Lily asked. She regretted it as soon as she saw the hurt look in Tori's eyes.

"Hopefully, burning in hell," Tori frowned. "He left Erica and Kalea just before Leah's first birthday. He didn't want to have a family, so he moved to Europe."

"DADDY!" Kalea's voice came from downstairs. The two girls heard the front door swing open, and their sensitive ears picked up footsteps.

"No..." Tori whispered, jumping up and running downstairs. Lily was right behind her, just as worried.

Before Kalea could jump into her father's waiting arms, Tori grabbed the girl from the air and held her close.

"Jacob..." Tori snarled, glaring at the older man with pure hatred. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I heard about Erica and came to take Kalea home," Jacob smiled, reaching out to hug his ex-sister in-law. Tori slapped his arms away, keeping her hold on Kalea.

"Oh, now you want her," Tori frowned. Kelly didn't know the whole story behind Jacob, but figured Kalea didn't need to hear it. So she took the girl from Tori and brought her to the backyard, with the puppy.

"I wouldn't leave my daughter alone when Erica's gone!" Jacob tried to explain, but Tori wouldn't have it. She hated the man standing before her. He had broken Erica's heart not once, but twice. After breaking up with the older Hanson sibling in high school, he got a second shot at love with her when they were older. He once again broke her heart when he walked out, leaving her with an eleven month old baby.

"But you have no problem leaving your family. How do I know in two weeks from now you won't put Kalea up for adoption?" Tori snapped. "You couldn't handle a family a year ago, who says you can handle one now!"

"I won't be alone this time!" Jacob smirked, wrapping an arm around Lily. "I'm taking her too. She'll help me with Kalea." Jacob looked down at the teenager in his arm. "You are Lily, right?"

Tori pulled Lily away from Jacob and stood in front of her protectively. "You son of a bitch!" she yelled.

"Wow Tori, I knew you were slow, but I thought that was because you were still a kid!" Jacob laughed. "You didn't know I knocked up your sister?"

"You're Lily's father?" Tori asked. "You can't be!"

"Dude! You and Erica? And you knew?" Dustin asked. "Why?"

"Why? Why did I leave? I was a kid! I had no business raising a baby!" Jacob frowned. "But I'm older now... wiser... better. I can handle it!"

"Is that why you broke up with her?" Tori asked. "Because she was pregnant? You cheap bastard!"

"Actually, Lily's the bastard," Jacob frowned. He looked over Tori's shoulder and looked his daughter in the eye. "No offence honey."

"Get out!" Tori yelled, grabbing Jacob's wrist and twisting his arm behind his back. "Get the fuck out of my house!"

"Tori, as a father, I have a right to care for my daughters!" Jacob yelled, pulling away from Tori.

"You gave up that right when you walked out," Tori frowned.

"Actually," Jacob smirked, waving papers in front of Tori. "Erica and I only got a divorce. I never gave up my rights to be a father. And they were never taken away."

Tori ripped the papers from Jacob's hand. He was right.

"You can't take care of Lily!" Camille pointed out. "She's eighteen!"

Jacob muttered under his breath, ripping the papers away from Tori. "I'll be back. You can't keep my daughters with you forever!"


	5. Giving Candy to a Baby

**Author's Note:** I'm so sorry it took forever to get this chapter up. I was so focused on the Kaylee series and my muse for this died. But thanks to your reviews, I slowly got back into it. I'm sorry it's not that long, but I hope it's better than nothing. I'm gonna start working on the second chapter, and hopefully I can balance both this story and the series.

Again, I'm really sorry about the long wait for a short chapter, but bare with me, I'm trying to get used to everything once more. Slowly but surely it will come back. And I'm already wokring on the next chapter, so hopefully you guys will have it up soon.

* * *

Once Jacob walked out the door, Tori screamed as her fist connected with the wall beside Dustin's head. The former yellow Ranger stepped to the side before pulling his friend into a hug.

"He's a jerk. And jerks never win," Dustin smiled. "Remember that jerk chicken? You took care of that like it was... Jacob."

Tori looked up at her best friend and smiled slightly, "Thanks... I think."

Blake stood beside Tori and took her hand, "Hey, we'll all help you out, right guys?" he said, looking over at his brother, Shane and Cam, before turning to the Jungle Fury team.

"Of course we will," Casey smirked, cracking his knuckles. "Jerkob won't know what hit him."

"I don't wanna kill him," Tori frowned. "I just want him to be run over by a car, break every bone in his body, be rescued by the paramedics who bring him back to life before the pain takes it away. Then, when he's in the hospital, he goes through surgery to get all the bones fixed. But a doctor accidentally drops a watch in his stomach, so he has to go through surgery again. There, the watch is found to be in his ding-dong, and they have to go all ER on him to remove it. He makes it out alive, in terrible pain, but alive and spends years in the hospital, suffering because the doctors decided to put a breathing tube in his throat. When all is good and done, he signs out, pain free and good as new, steps out of the hospital and onto the road where the paperboy hits him while riding the bike. The wheels get tangled up around his neck and he dies of asphyxiation."

The ninjas and Jungle Fury Rangers all looked over at Tori with strange looks before backing away slowly.

"Well then," Blake frowned eyeing the surfer girl carefully, "remind me to never get on your bad side... at all."

"Can do," Tori giggled, patting Blake on the head before walking to the backyard. When she made it there, she saw Kelly was sitting on a plastic chair, while Kalea and Killer were sitting in the grass, talking.

"My Aunt Tori's a meanie," Kalea whispered into the puppy's ear, but it was loud enough for Tori to catch, "she didn't let me say hi to daddy! I haven't seen him in forever!"

The puppy licked Kalea's cheek and began to bounce around the yard. Kalea huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I was talking to you!" she frowned.

Tori smiled weakly to Kelly, before walking over to her niece and sitting next to her.

"Hey, kiddo," she smiled as Kalea starting picking at the grass and throwing it in the air. "I'm sorry I pulled you away from daddy."

"It's not nice," Kalea frowned, throwing a tuff of grass at her aunt. "He's my daddy."

"Kalea... you have to understand... daddy's not a nice man anymore," Tori hoped Kalea would trust her, but that was asking a lot from a two year old.

"Daddy's nice," Kalea nodded furiously, "he bought me candy! He was going to give it to me!"

"Kalea..." Tori sighed, pulling her niece onto her lap, "remember what mommy said, no taking candy unless she or I say its okay?"

"But it was daddy! He's okay, right?"

"Sorry sweetheart," Tori smiled, "you have to trust me, okay? I don't want to hurt you, and I don't want you to get hurt."

"Is it okay to take candy from Aunt Kelly?" Kalea asked, pulling out a green lollipop from her pocket. Tori laughed and kissed the top of Kalea's head.

"Of course it's okay," she smiled, "all the guys in here are okay, but thank you for asking me first."

"YAY!" Kalea giggled, pulling off the plastic wrap and sticking the lollipop in her mouth.

Inside, Theo had pulled Lily into the other room and sat her down on the couch. He took her hand in his and looked her in the eyes.

"You know your awesome, right Lils?" he asked. His heart felt heavy as he started this, but he had to do it. If he waited too long, then Lily would get hurt.

"Theo, you're scaring me," Lily frowned. His hands were clammy, meaning he was nervous about something. She was afraid she had done something wrong.

"Lily, you're the best, best friend I could ever have, and this last little while together has been great... but it hasn't been all that..."

"Romantic?" Lily asked, interrupting Theo. He sighed in relief when he knew she understood what he meant. It made breaking the news to her a little easier.

"Yeah... we're great together, but as friends..."

"I know where you're going, T," Lily smiled weakly, squeezing his hands. "I just can't believe you're doing it now."

"I'm so sorry," Theo whispered, pulling her into a hug. "I don't want this to be hard on you, or me, and I know it's shit timing, but... I don't think I can be the boyfriend you need right now. All this would be so much easier if I went back to being your best friend. I still want to be here for you... but I don't think this is going to work."

Lily pulled out of the hug with a small smile, "I hate when this happened, but I knew it was coming when you turned away from me this morning," she admitted. She sighed deeply as she turned away, holding Theo's hand in her own. "I guess it would be too much to ask for you to have to deal with this insanity that I'm supposed to call a family."

"I'll still deal with it, but as your best friend," Theo smiled.

"Promise?" Lily asked, holding her pinkie out. Theo laughed, remembering all the times he and Lily had done the same thing at the Academy as children. He hooked his pinkie around hers.

"I promise."

"Guys, lunch is ready on the table if you want," Camille poking her head into the room, calling the two to the kitchen. Theo smiled at her as he stood up. He turned to Lily and hugged her before running to the others.

Camille walked into the room when she saw Lily seemed a bit upset. She sat down beside her and pulled her into a one armed hug.

"He broke up with you?" she asked.

"How do you know?"

"I'm ten thousand years old," Camille laughed, "that makes me old and wisdom comes with age... that and you're tearing up."

Lily laughed, wiping away the tears with her sleeve.

"Bad timing..." she smiled.

Camille looked down at the former yellow Ranger. Ever since she had become one of the good guys, she felt a special connection to Lily. The yellow Ranger had once believed she saw goodness in her, and had at first been proven wrong. When Camille did switch sides, she realised that Lily had been right the entire time, and even if it was only for a moment, Lily was the only one who ever believed Camille wasn't some emo-witch.

"C'mon," she said, taking Lily's hand and pulling her off the couch, "There's a bag of candies on the counter. Perfect for break-ups."

Lily rolled her eyes before pulling Camille back on the couch and running to the kitchen. The chameleon laughed, getting up quickly and chasing after her.

When she got to the kitchen, she saw Lily was holding the candies in her hands.

"Mine," the cheetah growled playfully. She put a few of the candies in her mouth before offering the rest to Camille.

"Keep them," Camille smiled, "Think of it as a Christmas present, from me to you."

Lily shrugged, popping a few more in her mouth before closing the bag and setting them down on the counter, "I'll share them with Kalea after lunch. If I get her hyper, we can annoy Kelly to no end!"

"You saw kindness in me, I see a trace of evil in you," Camille laughed.

"No one's perfect," Lily smirked.

---

After lunch, Tori had gone upstairs to her room. She was searching all through Erica's stuff in hopes of finding the divorce papers. If she found them, maybe she could find some way to prove that Jacob was no longer responsible for the girls, and she could get them to leave her alone.

"Where are you?" she asked, searching every folder she had. She was very thankful her sister was a pack-rat. Everything she ever owned was in her boxes. Tori was sure there was some kind of paper here.

"AHA!" she yelled, pulling a legal document out. It was a little ruffled, but it was going to do. She looked over it and smirked.

Jacob was not written down as a legal guardian, or father in any way. Tori hugged the papers close to her chest. When she pulled away, she looked at the year the papers were printed.

1990.

"Um..." she frowned, scanning the papers once more. That's when she noticed the papers she was holding were not Kalea's... they were Lily's.

"DAMN IT!" she yelled, throwing the papers into the piles and looking through the folders once more. She didn't need to worry about Lily; she was eighteen and didn't need to have a legal guardian anymore. There was nothing Jacob could do to claim full custody of her, and he knew it. Tori needed to make sure Kalea was safe.

"Please be it," Tori whispered, pulling on a paper that was stuck to between two others. When she got it free, she looked over it. "YES! YES! YES!"

"Aunt Tobi..." Kalea's soft voice called from behind her. Tori turned around and saw her niece was watching her strangely.

"Lea... what's wrong?" she asked.

"Lily fell," the small girl whispered, taking her aunt's hand and pulling her out of the room. "She won't get up. Uncle Dustin told me to come get you."


	6. Please Protect My Girls

Lily had been rushed to the hospital and was already being treated sat in the waiting room, with everyone else. She was looking at the clock, wondering if anything else was going to come ruin her Christmas before it was over.

Kalea was curled up in Dustin's arms as she reached out to pet RJ's face.

"Did my sitter ever ask you to shave?" she asked the fluffy man. RJ laughed, shaking his head.

"Nope."

"Will she be okay?" Kalea asked.

RJ didn't know how to answer. So far, no one had gotten much news on Lily. The doctor had only come in to tell them that Lily was going to be okay when she woke up. They failed to tell her what had happened, or what they meant by okay.

"I hope so," he whispered.

"I've had enough waiting," Camille growled, getting up. Jarrod grabbed her arm and pulled her down.

"What are you going to do?" he asked, "This is a hospital. You can't just barge in when doctors are at work!"

"Who said anything about barging in?" Camille smirked, before disappearing. "I'm a chameleon, remember?"

"Dude, I want to do that!" Dustin smiled, clenching his fists and trying hard. Kalea looked up and poked him.

"I see you," she laughed. "I still see you. You're still here... still here... not invisabable... still here... Uncle Dustin, it's not working."

"Aw," Dustin frowned, before tickling the two year old.

"Camille, just, be careful, okay?" Tori said, looking up to where Camille had been standing when she disappeared.

"She's gone," Kalea stated, climbing over the chairs to sit on Tori's lap.

"How do you know, cub?" RJ asked.

Kalea pointed to the doors which were swinging as if someone had just walked through them, "She would suck at hide and go seek."

Tori smiled, hugging her niece with one arm as she gripped the papers in her other hand tight. Shane noticed them and pulled them out of her grasp.

"What's this?" he asked, trying to read it over, but once he saw they were legal papers, he wrinkled his nose in disgust and gave them back.

"Kalea's custody papers," Tori smirked.

"These are mine?" Kalea asked, looking at the papers. "Can I make airplane?"

"No sweetheart," Tori laughed before looking over at the others. "In here, it clearly states that Erica doesn't want Jacob taking care of Kalea in anyway if she dies, no matter what happens to me, or Lily."

"And why not?" Casey asked.

"He's a son of a witch who should be burned at the stakes," Tori frowned.

"Burn!" Shane and Dustin laughed, high-fiving each other.

"I meant, why wouldn't she let him care for Kalea? Obviously she's going to need something against Jacob to keep him from caring for his daughter."

Tori frowned. Casey was right. Erica would have needed proof that Jacob was an unfit father if she wanted him to lose his rights to his daughter.

"Kalea, did daddy ever hurt you?" Tori asked, turning Kalea's attention away from the papers.

"My daddy wasn't mean," Kalea frowned, offended at her aunt's accusations. She loved her daddy.

"I know... but even once? Did he hurt you or mommy?"

"Nope," Kalea shook her head. "He never did."

"Asking her might be useless," Cam frowned. "She's two. It's not like she's got a lot of history to look back on, and it's not like she remembers half of it."

"Shut up, there was a little hope."

"Daddy always bought me toys before he left," Kalea giggled as she tried to show her aunt how nice her father really was. "Every day after he got home from work he gave me a teddy! Three times he gave me a pretty princess necklace."

Kalea reached into her shirt and pulled out a necklace, "This was the last one he gave me. But he told me to never tell mommy because she was going to take it away. She took all the other ones."

"Why?" Tori asked, touching the necklace. It was made of pure gold, with a diamond resting in the middle. It was obviously very expensive; too expensive for Erica and Jacob to afford, even when they were happily married.

"Mommy said it wasn't ours," Kalea snatched the necklace from her aunt and hid it under her shirt again.

"Hey, Tor, what did Jacob do?" Kelly asked, looking at the chain around Kalea's neck, "Job-wise I mean... was he a business man or anything?"

"He owned a little corner store for a few years, but gave it away when he went to Europe," Tori pondered out loud. She knew Kelly was on the same track as her. The gold necklaces, the teddy bears and the custody was slowly coming together.

"Do you think he stole it?" Kelly asked.

"NO!" Kalea yelled, hitting Kelly's legs with her little fists. "Daddy's nice! He got them from a man at the park! He said he gave a lot of stuff to get the necklaces."

"A lot of what?"

"I don't know," Kalea shrugged. "I don't want to talk to you anymore, you're all being mean! I want my sister!"

"Kalea..."

"Lily's been drugged," Camille announced as she reappeared in the room. "I checked her charts... the candies had a drug inside them... the doctors got it out... and she'll be fine... but..."

"Drugs?" Tori asked, "Why were there drugs in the candies?"

"Where did she get them?" Kelly asked.

"There was a bag on counter," Camille frowned, "I let Lily take them... I thought they were Christmas candies."

"What kind of candies were they?"

"Chewy... hard... a mix I guess..."

"Daddy brought those candies!" Kalea yelled, "Aunt Tobi told me not to eat them!"

Kalea looked up at her aunt, with an angry look, "Why can Lily eat them but not me?"

"Those were the candies your father brought?" Tori asked.

"He brought candy?" Theo frowned.

Tori jumped up from her seat and put Kalea in RJ's arms. She grabbed her car keys and ran for the doors.

"Watch her for me!" she yelled to the others, "And if Lily wakes up, tell her I might have all the information I need to save her family!"

The Rangers, Jarrod, Fran and Camille exchanged confused glances while Kalea pet RJ's face once more.

"You should really shave, fluffy."

---

Tori ran to her van and had just put the keys in the ignition when her cell phone rang. She picked it up, without checking the ID, and answered it.

"Hello?"

"_Tori, so glad you picked up."_

"How did you get this number, Jacob?" Tori frowned, pulling out of the parking spot.

"_You have the same cell phone from when Kalea was born. Obviously I have the number of the emergency contact for my daughter."_

"She is not your daughter!" Tori hissed.

"_You know that's not true. Who else would she belong to?"_

"What do you want?" Tori growled.

"_Just to know how you're doing?"_

"Great, actually," Tori smirked. "It turns out you're not allowed to care for Kalea if Erica's dead. You no longer have the right to care for Kalea!"

"_And why is that?"_

"I'm not sure yet, but I think it's got something to do with the necklace Kalea showed me. Tell me, Jakers, how did you earn enough to buy three of them?"

"_That's none of your business."_

"Kalea's my niece, anything involving her is my business!"

"_It doesn't matter! When child services find out she's been drugged, you'll have a lot of explaining to do!"_

"How would you know Kalea's been drugged?" Tori asked, playing along with her plan as she reached for her morpher and set it to record the conversation on the phone. "I never mentioned that? Maybe... it's because the drugs were in the candies that _you_ left at my house?"

Jacob cursed under his breath and Tori could tell she was getting the upper hand.

"_I'll give you that one, Hanson, I did drug Kalea... but who's going to believe you? I'm her father..."_

"Yeah... no," Tori smirked, "you're not supposed to care for her, whether you are blood or not, I am. And you didn't drug Kalea, you drugged Lily."

"_I... how? I gave those candies to Kalea!"_

"Brains come my this side of the family, Jakers," Tori taunted, pulling into her driveway.

"_A warning Tor, I may be one step behind your little plan, but I've got my own going on here."_

Tori frowned and looked at her phone, "You make no sense."

She opened the door to her house and tossed the key into the bowl by the door, before looking up and spotting Jacob, still on the phone with her.

"You can't take care of Kalea if you're dead," he grinned before slamming her over the head with a crowbar.

---

Back at the hospital, the Rangers had finally been informed by a doctor about what happened to Lily and were now allowed to visit her.

Fran decided to go in with Kalea first. She had read a few books about drugs for university and figured it would be easy for her to help Lily understand, especially when Kalea refused to let anyone tell Lily what happened except for her.

"... and then the doctor said that there was some stuff..."

"Drugs."

"In the candies that you ate and they made you fall asleep for a really long time..."

"You fell unconscious and were unresponsive to anything when we tried to wake you up."

"And the doctor said that you don't have any more yucky stuff in your system and that we lucky we got you here fast because you could have died!"

"I think you understood that last part," Fran laughed, picking Kalea up and placing her on the bed beside Lily. "Basically, I'll say it in simple terms, because you might not understand much right now, your dad drugged the candies you ate, you passed out, we had no idea what was wrong with you, brought you here, you were drugged, doctors fixed you and now you're awake."

"And now my head hurts," Lily sighed.

"The doctor said the yucky stuff might give you an ouchie," Kalea smirked.

"No, it's because you two are talking so loud!" Lily whined, holding her hands to her ears.

"Sorry," Kalea whispered.

"Lils, I think the headache is from the drugs," Fran laughed, "you just think we're yelling."

"Where's Tori?" Lily asked, sitting up in her bed. Kalea took this as an invitation and sat down on Lily's lap. She rested herself on Lily's stomach and chest and hugged her sister.

"She said she had information to save the family," Fran explained to the dancer. "She ran out of here before we could ask her."

"Where did she go?" Lily asked, adjusting her sister so she could breath.

"We don't know," Fran shrugged, "probably home."

"Can you give me my phone?" Lily pointed to her jacket that had been hung up on the coat hanger by the door. "My cell's in the right pocket."

Fran reached in, grabbing Lily's phone before handing it to the girl, "Do you know the number?"

"Tori called me three times last night," Lily laughed, "I still remember the number."

Lily pushed the buttons quickly and pressed the phone to her ear as she waited for an answer.

"_Hello?"_ a man answered on the other end.

Lily shut the phone and tossed it to the end of the bed. She held Kalea tight as she pulled Fran closer.

"Help me get out of this place," she whispered.

"Why?" Fran asked.

"Everyone's here at the hospital, right?" Lily asked, pushing herself out of bed. Fran nodded, and it only seemed to make Lily moved faster.

"A man picked up the phone."

---

"Wow, that was stupid," Jacob scolded himself as he tossed the phone down on the couch. "Why would I pick up a phone when I'm not expecting a call?"

He walked back to the kitchen sink and finished cleaning the blood off his hands, "Oh well, it's not like I can't take out the rest of those brats. I thought Hanson was the tough one."

He dried his hands on the dish towel as he walked around the house. He heard Killer whining and clawing at the laundry room door. He kicked the door, shutting up the puppy.

"Good dog," he smirked.

He tossed the towel on the floor and made his way over to the backyard. He walked up to the playhouse in the corner of the yard and opened the small door. Inside, Tori was sprawled on the ground, bleeding from her stomach and her head. She laid motionless as Jacob chuckled. He tugged on the rope that kept her arms tied behind her back, before gently tapping her cheek.

"Who do you think is going to find you first?" he asked her unconscious form.

He laughed to himself before walking to the fence and jumping over it. Just as he fled, Tori's eyes shot open.

---

"You run fast for someone with stuff in her bood," Kalea giggled as Lily pulled her down the street. The others weren't far behind them.

"You run fast for a two year old," Lily answered, turning down the last street and cutting across the grass before reaching the door to Tori's house.

Lily tried to open it, but it was locked. She groaned, hitting the door with her fist before Casey caught up to her.

"It's locked," he pointed out.

"Thank you," Lily frowned.

"I got it!" Kalea beamed, lifting the welcome mat and picking up a shiny key. "Mommy did the same thing."

"I'm going to buy you a huge cookie when all this is done," Lily grinned, kissing her sister's head and taking the key. She put it in the lock and turned it before swinging the door open.

"What are we looking for?" Hunter asked, panting as he ran inside the house.

"Tori," Lily told him. She took off upstairs while the others fanned out on the main floor. Kalea heard Killer whining from the laundry room and decided to let him out. Killer ran out, nearly knocking Kalea over as he did. He ran to the backdoor and started clawing it it.

"Silly puppy," Kalea laughed, opening the sliding glass door, but not before grabbing his collar. When the door was open wide enough for Killer to get through, he sprinted out into the backyard, dragging Kalea with him.

Killer ran to the playhouse and began barking as he clawed at the door.

"Bad puppy!" Kalea scolded, pulling her dog away from her playhouse, "Don't break it!"

Suddenly, Kalea heard a muffled cry coming from inside her playhouse. She turned to her dog who had gone back to clawing at the door.

"Did you put a poor kitty inside the house?" Kalea asked, opening the door to her playhouse.

---

Lily searched Tori's room for any hope of finding her Aunt. She went as far as searching Tori's closet. When she saw her Aunt wasn't there, she turned to leave. As she swung the door closed, a paper flew out with the wind and landed on Lily's shoes.

"Drug dealing?" she read aloud. She opened the closet once more and searched through the papers before finding one that was addressed to child services and that was only supposed to be opened if she passed away. Lily ripped it open and began reading.

"_If ever someone has to read this, it's because I, Erica Hanson-Chilman, have passed away. If you're reading this, I want you to make sure my daughters, Lillian Chilman and Kalea Chilman, do not end up with their father..."_

The letter went on, about how Erica refused to let her daughters live with Jacob. It explained all the drug dealing and stealing Jacob had been doing in the years after Kalea's birth and explained why Erica never went public with her accusations.

"She was afraid," Lily whispered, holding the letter.

"_... Jacob told me to never tell the police about what he's been doing. He said he could easily have me killed. He wants to make sure that the kids belong to him if I should ever die. He doesn't plan on killing me, but I don't think he would ever try to stop it. He's a dangerous man and I wish I could do more to protect my girls, but I'm scared. Kalea's already in danger... I don't want to know what would happen if he found out where Lily is..._

_Please, if you're reading this, make sure my girls end up with my little sister, Victoria Hanson. Please do everything you can to keep them safe. It's your job, you have to do it! I can't make anything official on paper... but please accept this letter as my final will. My girls must not go with that insane man!_

_Erica Chilman."_

Lily read the date on the top of the letter.

December 23rd 2008.

She smiled, happy her mother still cared dearly for her, but she was also filled with rage. Her father had been a mad man all along. He had threatened her mother and would stop at nothing to make sure he had custody of her and Kalea.

But why?

"AUNT TOBI!"

Lily heard Kalea screaming bloody murder from the backyard and her blood went cold. She heard the others were already racing to find out what happened. It took a few seconds for her feet to get moving, but once they did, she was a blur to everyone as she flew by them.

"Kalea!" she called, stopping just outside the backdoor. She saw her sister, standing in front of the playhouse. She was shaking madly as she held onto Killer for dear life. Lily ran over to her and swopped her up in her arms before looking inside the house to see what had Kalea so traumatized.


	7. Dress Up

"Tori!" Lily yelled, holding Kalea in her arms as she crawled into the playhouse. She sat beside her Aunt and made sure she was okay.

Kalea buried her head in Lily's shoulder, refusing to look at the sight before her.

"I wanna go home," she cried into Lily's shirt.

"I know," Lily whispered, untying the rope around Tori's arms. She helped her aunt up and out of the playhouse just as the others appeared in the backyard.

"Tori!" Blake yelled, running to the water Sensei's side and taking her from Lily. With RJ's help, he got Tori inside where she could be treated.

Lily sat down on the porch, rocking her sister gently, "Tori's going to be okay," she smiled to Kalea.

"Who hurt her?" Kalea asked, "Did someone give her a booboo?"

Lily shrugged, pulling Kalea close to her chest, "I don't know, sweetie. We'll ask Aunt Tori about it when she's feeling better."

"What happened to her?" Casey asked, sitting next to the cheetah and wrapping his arm around her.

Lily shook her head, before resting it on Casey's shoulders, "I just told Kalea... I have no idea."

"Think it was Jacob?" Casey frowned.

"MY DADDY'S NICE!" Kalea yelled, shoving Casey away and pulling away from Lily. She ran back into the house and climbed the stairs all the way to her room. No one was being nice to her daddy, even if she told them he was nice. She knew him best, after all.

"I should go talk to her..." Lily sighed, getting up from her spot, but Casey grabbed her arm and pulled her down.

"Let Kelly do it," he smiled, "I think you should focus on yourself right now."

"I can't," Lily told him as she tried to pull away but Casey's grip was too strong. "Tori's hurt, Kalea's upset..."

"Exactly," Casey said, smiling down at Lily. "_Your_ Aunt is hurt, _your _sister is upset, _your_ boyfriend just broke up with you, _you_ were just checked out of the hospital... are you sure you can handle all this?"

"I just want a family," Lily muttered.

"And you have one," Casey pulled Lily into a hug.

"Casey, my mother was never around! A week every few months isn't enough to raise a kid! Master Mao was more of a parent than she was! And he's dead! My mom can't redeem herself because she's dead now too! If I don't do something I might lose my aunt and my sister might hate me!"

"You don't have to be blood to be family," Casey whispered into Lily's ear. "I mean, I thought we were all a family. Me, you, Theo, RJ, Dom, Fran, Jarrod and Camille... And as your family, I'm telling you to take it easy right now."

"Thanks, Casey," Lily smiled as she realised the red Ranger was right. She did have a family. A strange one, but it was still family.

Lily stood up and kissed Casey on the cheek before running inside to help RJ and the others with her Aunt.

Tori was sitting on the couch as RJ finished wrapping a bandage around her stomach. The surfer held a towel to her head to stop the bleeding. Other than those two wounds, Tori had a few cuts and bruises, but seemed to be okay despite everything she had gone through.

"You are a trooper," RJ laughed, rolling Tori's shirt back down so she didn't have to move too much.

"Have you ever trained an entire class of amateur ninjas? This is called Wednesday for me!" Tori laughed weakly as to not injure her stomach further.

"What happened?" Lily asked, hoping she would get an answer to Kalea and Casey's question.

"Jacob," Tori said, "he truly will stop at nothing to make sure he has you and Kalea in his hands."

A smile appeared on Lily's face as she remembered the papers she was looking through before Kalea had screamed murder. She ran upstairs, passing by an upset Kalea as she did.

The two year old didn't stop when she saw her sister. She continued down the stairs, holding her stuffed cheetah in her arm and two fingers in her mouth as she walked to the living room. She though she heard her Aunt's voice and decided to check it out.

Kalea stopped at the door and smiled awkwardly when she saw her Aunt was alive. Tori looked over at her and winked, giving Kalea the invitation to run over to her. Kalea jumped onto her Aunt's lap as Tori hugged her.

"I'm sorry you had to see that," Tori whispered to her niece.

Kalea looked up at her Aunt, "Bum said daddy hurt you! Tell him he's wrong!"

Tori looked over at Casey. She couldn't break Kalea's heart and tell her the truth, but if she lied, Kalea would believe her father was a good man, and if he ever tried to manipulate Kalea into leaving with him, Kalea would easily go because she thought her father was nice.

"Kalea... daddy's been doing some really bad things lately," Tori started.

"Is he going to get a time-out?" Kalea asked.

Tori laughed softly, hugging her innocent niece, "It'll be something like that," she smiled.

"Tori!" Lily called, nearly falling down the stairs before making her way into the living room, holding Erica's letter in her hand. Tori took the letter while Lily took Kalea off of Tori. She figured the older girl could use a little space, especially seeing as her injuries were still pretty severe.

"What's this?" Tori asked, recognising the hand-writing. It was a letter from her sister and it was dated a few days before her death.

"It's my mom's letter to child services. She explains why she doesn't want Jacob to care for me and Kalea..."

"He deals drugs?" Tori asked, finishing Lily's sentence for her. Lily nodded, pointing to the letter.

"He said he would have her killed if she told anyone."

"This isn't going to be enough to get Jacob off our backs," Cam frowned, reading the letter. "The police and child services would need proof that he's a bad man."

"My morpher!" Tori yelled, jumping up from the couch, pulling on her stomach. She groaned in pain, but managed to grab her morpher. "I recorded Jacob when he was on the phone with me. He admitted to trying to drug Kalea."

"We have to get this to the police!" Theo smiled, taking the morpher from Tori. Dustin shook his head.

"What are we going to say? Listen to this Power Ranger morpher? We have secret identities, T."

"Can we get it onto a CD or DVD or anything?" Kelly asked.

"They're going to ask where we got it from," Dustin told his wife.

"What if we get him to confess to it again?" Kelly smirked, "He knows we know, so why would it be a problem if we get him to say it in public?"

"Because he wouldn't," Tori sighed, "He got the jump on me! He's got his own little agenda going on, and it's overthrowing all of our plans!"

"That and I don't think my dad's going to admit to drugging his daughter when there's a camera going."

"KELLY!" Hunter smiled, pointing to the red head. "Kelly can get him to admit to it!"

"Excuse me?" Kelly frowned, glaring at the crimson Ranger.

"When Jacob came here, he saw all of us... but you took Kalea into the backyard. He didn't get a good look at you! He wouldn't recognise you right away!"

"Especially if we disguise you," Dominic agreed as a smirk crossed his lips.

"No, no, no, no!" Dustin frowned, pulling his wife behind him and glaring at the blonde boys. "NO! No way am I letting Kelly deal with that psycho path! Look at what he did to Tori!"

"Someone's gotta do it," Blake said, agreeing with his brother. "Kelly's our only shot. He would recognise most of us in a heartbeat!"

"We can't send Kelly out there! She wouldn't know how to defend herself if he does attack her!"

"We wouldn't put her in danger," Theo smirked, already thinking of a disguise. "She just needs to get in, get the information and get out."

"And what would happen if he found out about this plan?" Dustin asked, "There is no way I'm letting you guys go through with putting my wife in this much danger."

"Guys, I'm with Dustin on this," Tori sighed, "No matter how good of a plan this is, we can't put her life on the-"

"I'll do it," Kelly said, cutting Tori off as everyone looked at her in shock. Jaws were dropped, eyes were wide and Dustin seemed angry.

"Kelly..."

"No, Dustin... This is the only way," Kelly said, taking his hand.

"You don't have to..."

"I want to," Kelly nodded. She grabbed Kalea off of Lily's lap and held the small girl in her arms. "If it means protecting Kalea, I'm all for it. I love this brat, and if I have to stand by and watch while she's taken away, I would never be able to live with myself."

"Aunt Kelly's going to play dress up?" Kalea asked.

"Kinda," Tori nodded.

"COOL!" Kalea dropped out of Kelly's arms. She took the redhead's hand and pulled her to the stairs. "Aunt Tobi bought me a lot of mostumes last year! I can let you borrow one!"

As Kelly was dragged away, Dustin looked over at the others.

"Thanks you," he growled, turning away as he grabbed the keys. "If anything happens to my wife, you guys are all going to have to deal with me."

Lily took a deep breath as she watched Dustin storm out of the house. She knew he was upset at the others wanting to use his wife as a secret weapon but she also understood that Kelly was probably the only chance at getting Jacob to back down.

"I'm going to go help Kalea pick out a disguise. Something tells me a drug-addict Cinderella's not going to fool my father."

"Good thinking," Casey laughed.

---

"But she was prettier in the princess dress," Kalea frowned as Lily handed Kelly a black hoodie.

"I know, kiddo," Lily laughed, "But this dress up has to be a little..."

"Scary?" Kalea asked.

"Yeah, kinda," Lily smiled.

Kelly laughed at the two year old, pulling the hood off her head as she looked into Kalea's eyes.

"I promise, when I get back, I'll play princess with you and that pretty pink dress."

"YAY!" Kalea cheered, hopping off the bed as she ran for her costume box. She pulled out a pair of high heels and a tiara. "You're going to be the prettiest princess in the world!"

Kelly smiled, putting the hood back on her head as she turned to Lily, "You hear that, I'm a pretty princess."

"And Liwy's going to be our waitwess!" Kalea giggled, holding up an apron.

"I get to be a waitress," Lily smirked, before realising she got the butt end of the deal. "Hey, no fair!"

"I have to get you a cup of water to give us when you waitwessify for us. I'll be right back, okay!" Kalea called, running for the door. "Don't put my disguises away until I get back."

Kelly and Lily both crossed their fingers over their hearts as Kalea left. When the two year old was out of earshot, Lily looked up at Kelly.

"You really don't have to do this," she smiled.

"Lily, I know you want me to do this," Kelly answered, pulling her now black hair over her face. "And don't worry, I'll be fine."

"You better be," Lily smirked, playfully poking Kelly in the shoulder.

"Think we should tell the others we can get this plan going?" Kelly asked, motioning to the stairs.

"The longer we wait, the more time my dad has of finding out what we're up to," Lily nodded.

---

Kelly and Lily walked into the living room, where everyone was sitting, except for Dustin. Kelly wasn't surprised he had run out, but felt a little scared knowing he wasn't around to hear the plan.

When Tori saw the new Emo-Kelly, she pulled away in fear and pointed.

"Alternate universe you!" she yelled.

Kelly looked down at the blonde, "What..."

Tori realised that everyone was staring at her strangely, and that the only person who would understand would be Blake. She lowered her hand and bit her bottom lip.

"Never mind."

"Alright, so how are we going to do this?" Kelly asked, "I'm pretty sure I'm not going to walk up and ask 'did you drug your daughter'? That would be a little obvious."

"I don't care if people know he's tried drugging Kalea, as long as you get him to admit he's dealt drugs before, and he still is. Really, I just need you to prove that he's unfit for raising kids," Tori said, as Cam handed Kelly a small chip.

"So what do I ask him?"

"How long he's been doing _this kinda thing_, first of all," RJ smiled. "If he says years, it's all we need as proof that he's on the wrong side of the law."

"What about the unfit father thing?"

"Improvise," RJ said.

"How the hell do I improvise? I'm not exactly professional at this whole emo/druggie persona."

"You'll figure something out. But try not to compromise your identity."

"What if I do?"

"Camille will be camouflaged in the area. If worst comes to worst, she can help you out," Jarrod said, patting Camille on the shoulder as the Chameleon showed Kelly what she was able to do.

"Okay, scary," Kelly frowned as she watched Camille disappear and appear before her eyes.

"Are you sure you're up to this, Kel?" Shane asked.

Kelly nodded, "As ready as I'll ever be."

Camille and Kelly walked to the front door, hand in hand and camouflaged, just in case Jacob was still in the area. As Kelly passed under a tree at the end of Tori's driveway, she let her wedding and engagement rings slip off her finger to land by the trunk.

When the two rings lost contact with her finger, they lost their camouflage and shone brightly before landing in the dirt.

From up in the tree, Dustin waited for Camille and Kelly to disappear from sight and teleport into downtown (evil villains always had some way of magically appearing places) before he jumped down. He picked up the rings and looked down at them as they rested in the palm of his hand.

"I'll make sure you come home," he whispered, closing his palm.


	8. The Deal

Kelly could feel her heart beating a mile a minute as she stepped into the long, dark alleyway; at the end, stood a man close to six feet tall. He was very slim from the looks of it and seemed to be smoking something Kelly wished she never had to try.

She looked back briefly, where Camille was watching her, before approaching the man. She subconsciously held one hand on her stomach, as if protecting it. Recent news from the doctor had given her a reason to be very careful.

"Who are you?" the man asked, eyeing Kelly suspiciously. He didn't recognise her at all. He looked to the side slightly, before a group of his buddies walked out from behind boxes.

"I'm uh..." Kelly gulped, feeling as if she was in over her head. She felt the need to look back at Camille once more, but knew it would arise suspicion. "I've heard of a man, Jacob Chilman... any idea where he is?"

"That loser?" the man laughed. His buddies immediately started cracking up as well. "Yeah, we've heard of him. We kicked him out of here this morning. Idiot stole a bunch of our stuff for himself."

"He just had to ask and we would have let him take it," a short, yet bulk man chuckled. "We gots tons here."

Kelly scratched her arm where the chip had been placed, under her sleeve. She activated it before speaking up again.

"Jacob Chilman stole your stuff? Drugs right?" she asked.

"Sure thing, pretty girl," the man nodded. "He took a whole bunch. When we asked him about it, he said he left us our money in the safe box, but we never saw no money."

"Why do you asking, babe?" the short man asked, placing himself up against Kelly, before wrapping his arm around her waist.

Kelly tried to pull away, but the other men surrounded her.

"You know, we can't just let a pretty girl like you run off with all that information. Someone could get hurt if this is spilled to the cops," the man smirked.

"I'm not going to tell the cops," Kelly finally managed to pull away from the short man, before bumping into a taller, stronger and even bigger built man. He grabbed her arms and pulled her into him, holding her still as she faced the leader of the gang. "Jacob... cheated me... last week. I just need to know where he is so I can get my money."

"Are you sure that's the truth, babe?" the man asked, stroking Kelly's cheek. "I would hate it if we had to kill you for rattin' us out."

"Believe me, I'm out to get Jacob just like you guys," Kelly said, trying to pull free.

"Then you won't mind paying up," the man smirked, holding out his hand. The big man holding Kelly let her go, but Kelly could feel his gaze burning into the back of her head.

"I don't have money on me," Kelly shook her head and pulled out her pockets.

"Well then, I guess there is another way you could pay up..."

"HANDS UP!" a figure yelled from the street, pointing a gun towards the boys and Kelly. The red head felt her stomach turn, thinking she had just been caught with a bunch of drug dealers. How was she going to explain all this to the police?

"One cop?" the slim man laughed with his buddies. "Is that it? Big Jim, you can handle this guy."

"He said, hands up!" another figure yelled. By comparison of the physique, Kelly could tell that the first policeman was a man, and the second a woman.

"Big Jim, you can handle two, right?" the man asked, patting his bigger friend on the back. The big man nodded, smirking.

"C'mon pretty lady," the man smirked, grabbing Kelly's arm and pulling her with him. "You're coming with me. You still have a debt to pay."

"Leave the girl!" the second cop yelled, before stepping forward. Kelly barely recognised the clothes, seeing as she was wearing a police uniform, but she recognised the face and the black hair immediately.

"Camille," Kelly whispered.

"Who's going to make me?" the man asked, running to the fence dividing the alleyway in two.

Camille smirked before dropping her gun. She lifted her hand slightly, before snapping her fingers and transforming into her chameleon animal form.

"Dudes! It's that creepy chick from Ocean Bluff!" the slim man yelled, pulling Kelly with him as he, his gang, and Big Jim began running.

"I said, leave the girl!" Camille yelled, jumping in front of the gang. "My Master would be pleased if he returned from his prison and found a hostage, waiting for him."

"Shoot her!" the slim man yelled to the police officer. Before the officer could do anything, Camille whipped her tongue out at the boys, scaring them to the point where they forgot all about Kelly and bolted, jumping over the fence and running as far away as they could.

Kelly ran over to Camille, who caught her in a hug, "You are a life saver!" she exclaimed as she began to cry.

"Wipe those tears, babe," the police officer smirked as he stepped forward, pulling off his hat. Camille returned to her human form and snapped her fingers just before the uniform disappeared from the police officer.

"Dustin?" Kelly asked, pulling away from Camille and jumping into the arms of her husband, "But how, when, why?"

"I told you this was a risky plan," Dustin smiled, happy his wife was safe, and still his. "But I guess it really is the only way we can prove Jacob's an unfit father, and a bad man all around."

Kelly nodded; resting her head on Dustin's shoulder as a few tears fell. Before she saw Camille's face, she had been scared shitless. She thought she was going to be forced to sleep with the slim man, and the other boys if he wished and she thought she was going to be arrested by the cops.

"Look, I hate this plan with all my heart, but we need you to find Jacob and get him to admit to dealing drugs and what-not," Dustin whispered.

"I got a confession from those guys... won't that be enough?" Kelly asked, afraid of having to deal with another gang once more.

"Enough to put Jacob under suspicion, but I say we go for the whole thing, what do ya think, Kel-Bel?"

"I can't," Kelly shook her head before burying it in Dustin's chest. He knew she was terrified of what just happened. He took her hands in his and looked down into her green eyes.

"I'll be right here," he smirked, "Camille and I will interfere if anything happens. No one is going to touch you, understand. You are mine, and all mine."

Kelly smiled, kissing her husband, "I understand."

"I mean it," Dustin smirked playfully. "That body is all mine. No one else can have it. _**No one**_... _** ever**_."

---

After wandering the streets for hours on end, Kelly finally found the alleyway that Jacob was hiding in. With a nod from Camille and a quick kiss from Dustin, Kelly walked in and sat next to Jacob.

"What's a pretty boy like you doing in this dump so late at night?" she asked, rubbing circles with her finger across his chest. Jacob looked over to her and smiled.

"I guess you heard about my stuff," he smirked.

"If you mean drugs, yes," Kelly nodded, "Unfortunately, I hear your rep around these parts isn't so good.

"A pretty girl like you could help boost that rep," Jacob grinned. He leaned in closer to Kelly, but she pushed him away.

"No," she frowned, "I'm not here for that."

"C'mon, you and I could be great partners."

"You would need money," Kelly told him, "and lots of it."

"After I sell my stash, we could be millionaires," Jacob smirked, winking at Kelly.

"How much ya got?" Kelly frowned.

"I told you, babe, we could be millionaires."

For the sake of getting Jacob to confess to dealing drugs, without a shadow of a doubt, Kelly was going to have to get him to actually admit to it.

"How long do you plan on being in this drug-dealing business?" she asked him directly. "If you could earn a million dollars every once in a while we would never have to worry about people coming to ruin your rep. They would come for your help, and advice..."

"I don't plan on being in this business for long," Jacob admitted. "Drug dealing's only getting me by until I get custody of my daughters."

"Daughters?"

"My ex-wife passed away and left my girls with her sister," Jacob explained, "She also left them with a ton of money to their name."

"How much money?" Kelly asked, "I heard you weren't the richest man in Blue Bay."

"We weren't rich," Jacob nodded, "But we were far from poor, very far."

"Explain."

"Erica, my wife, was always a little... protective of her money. She wanted to make sure we were always stable financially. She put a shitload of money under my girls' names so they wouldn't have to worry about running low. We didn't have access to that money until the girls turned twenty-one."

"So, you were never poor?"

"We were an average family. Any money left over after she stored it away went to food, clothes and the necessities. I knew I needed more money to win my daughters over, especially when Erica and I were starting to fall apart, so I jumped into this business."

"Dealing drugs."

"Yes, dealing drugs," Jacobs admitted. "I had no idea of the whereabouts of my oldest daughter, but my youngest was still in my grasp. I bought her gold necklaces, stuffed toys, play toys, anything her little heart desired."

"You wanted her to choose you in case of divorce... you wanted custody of her, so when she became of age, you could steal her money."

"Think Baudelaire Children," Jacob smirked. "Everything was going well, until Erica found the drugs in my drawer. She yelled at me and threw away everything I had bought the family with money from the drugs. She filed for divorce and I ran off the Europe. Now that she's dead, I have to make sure the girls are mine."

"I thought they were with their aunt?"

"They are."

"How are you going to get around that?" Kelly asked.

"I see three solutions to that problem," Jacob smirked, "First, show the world Tori is unable to care for children. Second could be to kill her. Third..."

Jacob leaned in close and whispered into Kelly's ear, "I ransom you for one of my daughters. Think Tori'll go for that, Kelly?"

---

"Aunt Tobi, where is Aunt Kelly?" Kalea asked, holding her tiara and a glass of water in her hand. "She pwomised she would play princess with me!"

"Maybe tomorrow, Angel," Tori smiled, picking her niece up. She reached for the nightgown on the arm of the couch. "Now is bedtime."

Tori managed to pulled Kalea's shirt and pants off, without dropping the girl, or spilling the water (the latter was thanks to her powers). Just as Tori went to put the nightgown over Kalea's head, the girl squirmed out of her arms and ran for the kitchen.

"No bed, no bed!" Kalea screamed, running in her socks and underwear. Theo, Casey, Shane and Hunter saw the girl run in and stared in shock.

"Kalea, where are your clothes?" Shane laughed.

Kalea looked down and pointed to her underwear, "Wight here."

"We mean your pyjama clothes," Casey laughed.

"Aunt Tobi has them," Kalea explained. She then tugged on Theo's arm, pulling him down. She cupped her little hand around his ear and whispered, "She wants me to go to bed."

Theo pretended to gasp in shock as he covered his mouth with his hand, "Really!?" he asked.

"Yahuh!" Kalea nodded, "You have to hide me!"

Kalea grabbed Theo's legs and hid behind him as Tori walked into the kitchen. She saw Kalea was hiding, but figured she would play along.

"Well, if Kalea isn't here to wear this pretty nightgown, I guess I will," Tori smirked, causing the boys to laugh. Kalea poked her head out from behind Theo and watched as Tori stuck her head through the neck hole. Tori let the nightgown rest on her shoulders, seeing as there was no way she was going to fit inside. Fortunately, just wearing it as a necklace was enough to make Kalea stomp out from her hiding spot.

"No! It's mine! I have to wear it!" Kalea yelled. Tori laughed as she took the nightgown off and handed it to Kalea. The little girl frowned as she snatched it back and put it on.

"Thank you, cutie girl," Tori smiled, picking her niece up. "Now, are you going to sleep in your bed, or am I?"

"The bed is mine too," Kalea huffed, "I sleep in it!"

"Alright, say goodnight to the boys," Tori smirked.

"No."

"Alright, I will then," Tori lifted her free hand to wave, but Kalea held it down and looked at the boys.

"Goodnight!" she called.

---

When Tori got Kalea to bed, she walked back to the living room. As she sat on the couch, Fran walked up beside her.

"I know I'm not a Ranger, and I don't know about these super secret plans... but shouldn't Kelly and Camille be back already?"

Tori nodded, checking the clock. 11:30.

"This has been the worst Christmas Day ever!" she groaned, falling back into the cushions.

"Maybe we should call Camille?" Fran asked, reaching for the phone. Tori quickly grabbed her hand and pulled it back.

"We can't risk Kelly or Camille getting caught," she explained. "Those two are on their own."

"I just have a really bad feeling."

"Don't we all?" Tori frowned.

"No... I've never been this worried before," Fran said, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose, as she looked around. "Even when the others went out to fight Dai Shi... I've never felt this afraid for anyone's life. I don't know how to explain it, but I really think something's wrong."

"Fran, Kelly's like my sister," Tori whispered, "I know exactly how you feel. But I trust her, she'll get the information from Jacob, and she and Camille will come home."

"She loves Kalea..." Fran breathed, "She's ready to do anything for the kid... what if..."

"Fran, shut up before I lose it," Tori sighed wiping away the tears before they could fall.

---

"Why would I go with you?" Kelly whispered as she tried to alert Camille and Dustin of the trouble she was in. Jacob grabbed her hands, holding them to his chest so it looked like a part of Kelly's plans, when in reality he was just trying to keep her from signalling.

"Think about it, Kelly, as long as you're with me, the girls aren't," Jacob smirked.

"You want to trade me for the girls!" Kelly frowned.

"Yes, I want to trade you... but if you come with me now, that gives the others time to plan your rescue, and it gives them time to protect Lily and sweet, beautiful, innocent Kalea," Jacob smiled.

"You'll still get your hands on Kalea," Kelly shook her head, "Sooner or later, you'll find a way... whether I go with you or not."

"Alright... how about this," Jacob smiled, cupping Kelly's cheek in his hand. "If you come with me now, and promise to stay with me, I'll leave Tori, Lily and Kalea alone. No kidnapping, no drugging, no murder. All you have to do is come quietly with me."

Upon hearing Kelly had the chance to make Tori, Lily and Kalea's lives a hell of a lot easier, she felt pushed to going with Jacob. After all, if she went with them, he wouldn't hurt Tori anymore. He wouldn't try to take away both her nieces, and he wouldn't try killing her to do so.

He could no longer torment Lily. He hadn't done anything directly to the cheetah, but Tori and Kalea were the only two people she had left in her little family. If they were safe, Lily would be happy as well.

And finally, little Kalea. Sweet, innocent and happy, Kalea. She was at the most risk of being hurt by her father because she trusted him. If Jacob left her alone, then Kalea would never mistakenly fall into his hands. She would grow up happy and healthy with her aunt and sister, who love her so much.

But Kelly had something else on her mind, something that was keeping her from accepting the deal and walking off with Jacob. Her hand moved down to her stomach. She was a few weeks pregnant with hers and Dustin's first child. If she walked away with Jacob, she would surely be forced to sleep with him tonight, if not sometime soon. He would think the child was his and Kelly would have to relive this custody battle with her own child.

"So, are you going to come?" Jacob asked.


	9. Killer's Instincts

Lily was pacing around her room, biting her nails as she waited impatiently for Kelly and Camille to return. She didn't really care if they had proof or not that her father was an insane mad man; she just wanted them to come home safe and sound.

Casey knocked on her door, which was open, and he let himself in, "You don't look well at all," he told her.

"Thank you," she sighed, finally flopping down on her bed and pulling her pillow close to her chest. "I can't believe I'm being expected to sit here and wait for Kelly and Camille to come home.

"We fought against Camille, she would kick Jacob's ass before he could lay a finger on her or Kelly," Casey smiled, trying to give Lily a little hope. The last thing she needed was to feel any stress or vulnerability. "As for Kelly, the ninjas tell me she's really tough. I'm sure she can handle a few boys."

"I'm just scared," Lily admitted. Casey looked down at her, before taking a seat next to her on the bed and pulling her into his arms.

"They'll be okay," he assured her, "Everything's going to work out fine. You'll see, soon it'll be just you, your sister and your aunt, without a care in the world. You'll have the family you've always dreamed of!"

"How can you be sure?" Lily asked, "You met my dad, you know how crazy he is... you know he'll stop at nothing to get what he wants... I don't even really know what he wants."

Casey took a deep breath as he fell back on the bed, lying supine with Lily in his arms, "I know, because your father and Tori are very different, and yet so alike."

"Explain before I hurt you," Lily frowned.

"Determined, head-strong, passionate about what they believe in, not taking no for an answer, think about it, Lil, your dad and Tori have both those qualities about them that make them who they are," Casey grinned. "The difference is, Tori's determined to protect her family. She's passionate about your safety and security, and believes you and Kalea belong with someone who will look out for you the way she does. She doesn't take no for an answer by trying to get your dad to give in. Your dad's determined to take you and Kalea away from Tori. His passion is you girls. He refuses to take no for an answer when Tori refuses to hand you girls over."

"Personally, I like my Aunt better," Lily laughed weakly, hugging Casey as she rested her head on his chest.

"Yeah, Jacob's the prick in that whole deal," Casey smiled, "You feel better, Lil?"

"A little," Lily nodded, smiling up at Casey. "Thanks."

---

"So, are you going to come?" Jacob asked.

Kelly took another moment to think. Save Kalea, Tori and Lily and leave with this man, or save herself and her unborn child and run.

"I'll go..." Kelly sighed, lowering her head in shame as Jacob smirked happily. "I'll go with you... just... leave the girls alone."

"I'll stick to my word, babe," Jacob placed his hand on his heart and the other in the air by his head.

"No ransoming me for any of the kids," Kelly told him.

"Got it," Jacob nodded.

Kelly sighed once again, looking over her shoulder where she knew Dustin and Camille were watching intently. Unfortunately, they couldn't hear her.

"Get rid of them," Jacob whispered, motioning with his head to Dustin and Camille. Kelly nodded softly as she moved her hand behind her back and waved them off. To make them believe she was okay, she touched her first finger to her thumb, forming the 'okay' sign.

"She wants us to leave?" Camille frowned, looking at Dustin.

"I guess..." Dustin nodded in disbelief.

When Kelly saw they weren't leaving, she waved at them once more, a little more aggressively.

"C'mon," Camille whispered, pulling Dustin away.

"We can't leave her," Dustin frowned.

"Obviously she's got a plan going on, and it's not going to happen with us around," Camille explained. "We'll hide for a second. Nothing too bad can happen."

Dustin finally nodded, turning away from the alley and walking out into the streets. He leaned up against a wall and counted to sixty before looking back.

"She's gone..." Dustin breathed, looking down the empty alley. "Jacob and Kelly... they're gone."

---

"YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!" Dustin yelled, storming into the house and slamming the door behind him, nearly hitting Camille, as he stomped over to Hunter. "This is all your fault!"

"Whoa... what happened?" Shane asked, stepping between the two. "Where's Kelly?"

"Exactly!" Dustin yelled, throwing his hands in the air as he tried to stop himself from beating Hunter or Dom. "She left with that idiot!"

"She did what?" Lily asked as she and Casey ran down the stairs after hearing all the commotion.

"Kelly left with Jacob?" RJ frowned.

"She's not here, is she?" Dustin growled.

"I'm sure there's a reason for all this," Cam said, placing his hand on Dustin's shoulder.

"Yeah, the reason is: Kelly was in way over her head! She couldn't think of a better plan than sacrificing herself! And it never would have happened if these two idiots didn't put that plan in her head."

"So Kelly's in trouble?" Tori asked.

"Aunt Kelly's in twouble?" Kalea asked, standing at the top of the stairs with her stuffed cheetah and her pink blanket. "What kind of twouble?"

"She's been fucking kidnapped by your asshole father and now she might be dead!" Dustin yelled to the two year old, letting out his anger on her. "Your '_Aunt Kelly'_ sacrificed herself for you, you little spoiled, stupid..."

"Dustin!" Tori yelled, stopping Dustin's harsh words, but the damage had been done. Kalea had been hurt by his words. Tears were falling freely from her eyes as she dropped her cheetah and blanket. She began to shake violently as she looked down at the one man she had ever had the courage the call uncle.

"I'm sorry," Kalea whispered.

"Sorry is not going to bring my wife back!" Dustin yelled.

Kalea wiped her eyes with her little fist, but it didn't do anything to stop the tears. She grabbed the handrail and bolted down the stairs, running past her sister and her Aunt and going straight for the front door. She opened it, stepped out into the night, and slammed it shut behind her.

"Are you happy?" Tori yelled as Lily ran after her sister. "How is any of this going to get Kelly back? How is making a two year old cry going to keep Kelly safe?"

"Kalea isn't my problem anymore," Dustin growled, "finding Kelly is."

"Well then, I hope you can live happily with only Kelly by your side, because if anything happens to Kalea we are done, Waldo Dustin Brooks," Tori shoved her best friend back as she grabbed her house keys and ran after her two nieces.

When Tori got outside, she spotted Lily at the end of the property, looking in every direction for Kalea. She walked up to the dancer's side and gently placed her hand on Lily's back.

"Did you see where she went?" she asked.

"She vanished," Lily frowned, "She just ran off... I have no idea which way, or where she's going."

"Kalea!" Tori yelled into the night, waking up a few dogs in the neighbourhood.

Blake and Casey walked out, with the latter holding Killer on a leash. The others followed them, throwing their jackets on as they prepared for a long night of searching for Kelly and Kalea.

"We figured Killer here could be of some help," Casey smirked, handing the leash to Lily.

"He's a pup..."

"I trained him," RJ smirked. "He's a smart dog."

"RJ..." Lily laughed.

"Alright, while waiting for Kelly and Camille I got bored and had my wolf teach this puppy the ways of life. Everything from sniffing his butt, to tracking down two year old girls."

"Thank God you're a whack-job," Lily grinned.

"You guys search the city for Kelly, Lily and I will take Killer to see if he came find Lea," Tori ordered as Fran gave Tori Kalea's baby blanket.

"We're coming with you," Blake said, looking Tori in the eyes. "I can't leave you alone like this, babe."

Tori blushed at the pet name, but quickly hid it... until Blake took her hand.

"Yeah, after all, if you guys end up finding Jacob, someone's gotta keep you girls from PMSing all over him," Casey joked, "I mean, he deserves it, but I think the police would want him alive."

Lily looked up at Casey, her eyes shining in the night. Casey looked down at her, resisting the urge to kiss here then and there. It would be wrong for several reasons. The first, her sister had just gone missing. Second, and most important, she just broke up with one of his best friends.

"Is it okay if we tag along, cheetah?" he asked her. Lily nodded, feeling a little better with him by her side. She had to admit, in the past few hours, he had really bonded with her. She felt safe when he was around.

"Alright, we'll split up," Shane ordered to the others. He pointed to the morphers, which still served as communicators, "We keep in contact. Anything happens, let us know."

---

Tori, Lily, Casey and Blake were running around town with Killer. The dog's nose was on the ground half the time as it tried tracking down little Kalea.

The girls were really starting to worry as the dog led them further downtown, where all the gangs liked to hang out at this time of night.

Killer suddenly began barking and pulling on his leash, choking himself as he jumped on his hind legs, trying to run towards the source of the scent he was tracking. Lily quickly unhooked his collar, allowing him to run ahead. She followed him, running as fast as her legs could carry her.

"Freaking cheetahs," Tori groaned as she and the boys took off behind Lily and Killer.

Killer ran into an abandoned building and bolted up the stairs. About halfway up the building, he ran down the hall and stopped in front of a door. He was barking madly as he tried clawing his way inside.

Lily didn't need to be told twice (hell, excluding the dog's barking she wasn't even told once) before she ran into the door, breaking it open with her shoulder and running inside.

"You said you would leave her out of this!" someone yelled from another room. Killer quickly bolted through the house, searching for something while Lily ran to the voice.

"I found her, all alone in the streets. As a responsible father, I took her home and gave her a bed for the night."

"Do you plan on taking her home?"

"That's the beauty of it. We never discussed this in our..."

"Jacob," Lily hissed, walking into the room where the voices were coming from. She found her father and Kelly, obviously in some form of disagreement.

"Lily, get out of here," Kelly warned the girl as Jacob got out of his seat, extending his arms to give his daughter a hug.

"Both my girls come running to me! And I get this beautiful wife..."

"I'm not your wife!" Kelly snapped, throwing a pillow at him. Jacob snatched it from the air and whipped it back at Kelly, hitting her in the face and knocking her back.

"Let Kelly go," Lily frowned, pushing her father away. She didn't want anything to do with him.

Jacob thought for a moment, smirking happily as he looked over at Kelly.

"You stay, she can go," he told his daughter.

"Lily, turn and run, now!" Kelly yelled at the girl.

"No, I'm taking you home."

"Lily, if you promise to stay here with me, Kelly can walk out of here, scot-free," Jacob told her.

"Lily, he has Kalea!" Kelly waned the girl. "Go find her... she's..."

"SHUT UP!" Jacob yelled, throwing a glass of water he had left on a desk. The glass just missed Kelly, flying right above her head and smashing on the wall behind her.

Lily looked over at Kelly, but before she could make a move, Jacob pushed past her, shoving her to the ground as he ran out of the room. Lily wanted to go after him, but figured it was best to get Kelly to safety. After all, Killer was still in the house, and her Aunt, Casey and Blake surely weren't all that far away now.

"You okay?" she asked, walking over to Kelly. Kelly nodded happily, accepting Lily's hand as the younger girl helped her off the bed.

"Go help Kalea," Kelly whispered. Lily nodded, but the glass window shattering in another room stopped her from running.

"Mommy said we should smash windows open," Kalea's little voice scolded her father.

"Shut-up twerp," Jacob yelled.

Lily and Kelly ran for the other room, hoping to get to kalea in time. As they burst in, Jacob picked Kalea up in his arms and stood on the window sill.

He spotted Kelly and Lily and smirked, "Sorry babe, but I chose money over you," he said to Kelly, winking at her. "It knows how to shut up."

With that, he jumped down, taking Kalea's with him. Killer jumped over to the window, barking as he watched the man fall to the streets with his owner in his arms.

"Killer, go get her, boy!" Lily told the dog, sending it out of the room to follow Jacob and Kalea.

"You're sending a puppy after her?" Kelly asked. Lily grinned, putting her hand to her chest as she started to glow yellow.

"Not just a puppy," she said, "Call to the beast inside, bring out the CHEETAH!"

A cheetah spirit emerged from Lily and jumped out the window, running down the streets in search of Kalea. To blend in with society and to keep the secret of the Pai Zhuq secret, the cheetah lost its robotic form and glow, transforming into a regular cheetah.

"I really have to get used to this whole Ranger thing," Kelly sighed, looking down at the cheetah as it ran. "But... don't you think a cheetah running loose is going to tip a few people off?"

"Like the cops?" Lily grinned, taking Kelly's hand and pulling her to the hallway. "Exactly."


	10. Impossible

Lily and Kelly ran out of the apartment, knocking into Tori, Casey and Blake.

"Kelly?" Tori frowned, seeing the red head.

"Who else?" Kelly smiled, hugging her friends.

"You're okay," Blake beamed.

"For the most part," Kelly said. "I'll tell you about it later. Right now we have to get Kalea."

"Where is she?" Casey asked.

"Um... I want to keep my head," Kelly said, running down the flight of stairs.

Tori turned to Lily and growled, "Where is she?"

"Dad took off with her," Lily explained, turning to run. Casey caught her arm and pulled her back.

"I don't sense your cheetah," he told her.

"That's because she's with Killer," Lily said, "Now come on! We have to hurry!"

---

"Why are you wunning, daddy?" Kalea asked as she was pulled down the street by her father. She had asked him several times if they could stop for a bathroom break, but he ignored her and ran.

"Shut up, brat!" Jacob yelled, jerking her arm forward. Kalea nearly tripped, but Jacob held her up. When he realised she was holding him back, he picked her up and continued to run.

"I'm not a bat!" Kalea frowned. "I'm a princess, and Aunt Kelly's going to be one too when I get home."

"You're not going home, _princess_," Jacob told her, turning down into an alleyway.

"But I want to go home," Kalea said, crossing her arms. "I don't want to play wunaway anymore."

Jacob put her down and slammed her against a wall.

"Listen brat," he growled. "You are coming home with me, got it? You're going to stay out of my way so you don't drive me up the wall, and as soon as your twenty-one, you're mysteriously going to disappear."

"A magic twick?" Kalea giggled, clapping her hands.

"DIE!" Jacob yelled. "You are going to die, Kalea! And when you do, all that money tied to your name is going to go to me!"

"I don't want to die," Kalea shook her head and tried to run, but Jacob held his grip on her before throwing her over his shoulder. He opened the metal door and ran down the stairs to the basement. The door slammed behind him and locked as he turned on the lights.

"Daddy! I don't want to die!" Kalea yelled, hitting her father's back desperately before he threw her into a cage, locking it up. "I don't wanna die! I don't wanna die!"

Kalea repeated these words, as if they were going to change her fate.

Jacob ignored her screams and walked over to a control panel.

"Shut up brat! You still have nineteen years to go!"

"_**I don't wanna die**_!" Kalea yelled.

"SHUT UP!" Jacob yelled, throwing the metal chair at the cage. The chair connected with Kalea's prison and knocked it over. Kalea fell back with the cage and slammed her head on the metal bars.

She held her head in her hands and began screaming in pain, repeating her mantra several times as the tear flowed down her face. She shook madly, realising her desperation.

"I don't wanna die... I don't wanna die... I don't wanna die..."

---

After hours of searching, all the Rangers met up in the middle of town. Killer and the cheetah spirit joined them, exhausted from their search.

"Did you find them?" Lily asked her spirit. It shook its head sadly, before returning to her body.

Dustin looked over to his best friend and sighed, "Tori, I'm so sorry..."

"Shut up," Tori whispered, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Please... just shut up."

"She's gotta be around here somewhere," RJ assured the water Sensei, putting a hand on her shoulder, "My wolf's an awesome tracker... maybe he can help."

RJ called his wolf, sending the violet creature out. He asked it to locate Kalea, handing it her baby blanket. The wolf smelt it before putting his nose to the ground. He picked up Kalea's scent, ready to go after it, before a flash of white light shone all through the town. The Rangers covered their eyes before a piecing screamed filled the air.

"_**I DON'T WANNA DIE!"**_

Those words were repeated several times before dying suddenly, along with the light. When the group could see again, they turned to the wolf.

"Find her," Lily told it. The wolf sniffed the ground again, before lifting its head and shaking it sadly.

"What do you mean?" RJ asked.

The wolf growled softly before tears appeared in RJ's eyes. He turned to Lily and Tori, taking their hands in his. He couldn't believe he had to give them the news.

"Animal spirits have the ability to sense other humans and locate them," he explained. He could feel Tori start to shake as she dreaded his next few words. "The wolf said he can't find Kalea anymore... he can't sense her... that could mean one of two things."

RJ took a deep breath, letting go of the girls' hands. He could barely look at them at the moment, never mind hold their hands in a comforting manner.

"What does it mean?" Tori asked.

"It could either mean Jacob's done something to erase Kalea from existence... or she's dead," RJ sighed. "Either way, getting her back now is going to be impossible."

Tori's lower lip started to quiver, before a whimper escaped as she collapsed to the ground. Blake and Kelly were instantly by her side, holding her gently as she cried.

Casey moved over to Lily and pulled her in a hug.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered.

---

When Tori and Lily got home, they told the others they wanted to be alone. The others respected their wishes, telling them they would be at Storm Chargers for when the girls needed to talk.

Inside the house, Lily refused to talk to her Aunt as she ran upstairs into Kalea's room. She picked the cheetah toy up and held it to her chest as she cried.

She curled up on what was at one point her little sister's bed, resting her head on the Winnie the Pooh pillow.

"I'm sorry Kalea... I let you down," Lily whispered, hugging the cheetah close to her heart. "I'm your big sister... I'm supposed to protect you from this... but I chose Kelly over you... if you can hear me... p-please... please... forgive me."

Lily broke down crying, shaking madly and allowing her cries to rock her to sleep.

---

Tori sat in her closet, surrounded by Erica's stuff. She was leaning against the wall, holding a picture of Erica and Kalea in her hands. Her tears had dropped onto the picture, staining it.

"I failed you, Erica," she whispered. "I couldn't take care of Kalea... You trusted me and I let you down... I'm so sorry."

---

"I don't wanna die," Kalea whispered, rocking back and forth in her little cage. "I don't wanna die... I don't wanna die..."

---

"I don't wanna die... I don't wanna die..." three years later, Kalea was still in the same position, repeating her mantra over and over again. Her now brown hair was stained with blood from the recent beating she received from her father after she refused to shut up. She was dangerously thin and frail. Her blue eyes were fixed on her father as he sat on a chair and watched her. He would spend most of his days sitting there, glaring daggers, waiting for the day she turned twenty-one, so he could claim the money attached to her name and kill her.

He knew that by now, Lily must have claimed her share of the fortune. She had turned twenty-one in April of that year. Kelly had certainly told the others why he was after the girls. He knew the others must have known she was alive, seeing as that was the only way he could claim the money, but he also knew that Kalea had been erased from existence. There was no way anyone could ever find her.

The building above them had been torn down a year and a half ago, leaving only the basement standing. No one knew about the basement, seeing as the roof was several feet below ground. The only way someone could find Jacob's hiding spot was if they knew where it was.

"I don't wanna die..." Kalea continued to chant. Jacob smiled happily. He had broken her. She was willing to do anything he asked her. By twenty-one, she would, without question, go claim her money and hand it over to him.

Kalea looked at her father desperately. She wanted to get out of the cage that held her prisoner for three years now. Food was passed through the bars, maximising her time in the cage. The only time she was allowed out was to go to the bathroom. Only then, Jacob would allow her to leave if he didn't feel like watching her suffer by sitting in her own feces.

"I have to go," she whispered.

"You can hold it," Jacob told her.

"I really have to go," she whispered. Jacob groaned in annoyance.

"One or two?" he asked.

"One."

He rolled his eyes. If he let her go in the cage, the liquid would leak out and get on the floor. He got off his chair, grabbing a dog leash. He stuck his arm through the bars of the cage and hooked the leash onto the collar around her neck. When he unlocked the door, he pulled Kalea out.

"C'mon," he said, walking with her to the bathroom. "You have one minute."

After Kalea finished her business, Jacob walked her back to the cage and threw her inside. He locked the door, then took the leash off, leaving the collar on.

"Can you take it off?" Kalea asked, tugging at the material around her neck.

"If I do, and you run off, I might not be able to identify you," he smirked, tapping her cheek. "You only have sixteen years to go, brat, suck it up. This life isn't that bad."

Kalea nodded, curling up in a ball.

"I won't run away, I promise," she whispered.

"Kalea, I said no."

"Please... just once," Kalea begged. Her father groaned, unlocking the cage and pulling her by the collar.

"Remember what happened last time you tried to run," Jacob warned her. Kalea's eyes went to the belt, hanging on a hook by the computer.

"I remember," she whispered.

"Good... but just in case..." Jacob grabbed the leash attached it to the collar. He held the leash in his hand before placing a bowl of food on the ground.

"You go back in the cage in five minutes," he told her. "Eat up, because the food stays here."

---

"Lily... wake up," Tori whispered, shaking her niece gently. This was the eighth morning in a row she found Lily sleeping in Kalea's old bed. Lily wouldn't normally sleep in Kalea's room, but every year, around Christmas time, Lily would miss her little sister and she could only find comfort in Kalea's room.

Lily opened her eyes and looked up at her aunt, "Tori... I can't do this anymore..."

"I know," Tori smiled, pulling the blankets off her niece. "That's why we're going after her."

"But RJ said it was impossible to find her."

"Impossible is nothing," Tori said. "Take anything you need, "We're not coming home until she does."

Walking by myself I know

This lonely road's becoming my new home

But I don't stop

I just keep moving on, and on

Ain't no need to dry my eyes

I haven't cried in quite some time

Every day I fight it,

You know it's possible

Kelly Clarkson: Impossible (All I ever Wanted, 2009)


	11. Beautiful

"Mommy, Aunt Tori no picking up!"

Two year old Samuel handed the phone to his mother, frowning as he heard the ring. Kelly took the phone and listened for a minute.

"I think she might be out, sweetie," Kelly smiled to her son, hanging up the phone and putting it on the counter.

"But daddy said Aunt Tori no like Christmas," Samuel told his mother as she put him in his chair. "He said she stays home."

"Aunt Tori's probably sleeping then," Kelly answered. She didn't want him to ask too many questions about his Aunt on Christmas. It was a hard time of year for everyone. The last thing Kelly needed was for her son to know about Kalea.

"I go make airplane for her," Samuel got off the chair and ran to his room. Kelly smiled as she watched her son leave, before looking into the living room at Dustin.

He had tears in his eyes, like he did every Christmas. This was the day he had said those mean words to Kalea to make her run away. Tori still hadn't forgiven him for it, and he obviously hadn't forgiven himself.

Kelly sat next to him, placing her head on his chest, "Tori's not answering the phone."

"When does Tori ever answer the phone?" Dustin asked. "She hates this family."

"She's upset at you," Kelly reminded him, "but she never ignores us. I think something's wrong."

"If we don't hear from her by the end of the day I'll check up on her, okay," Dustin assured his wife.

---

Kalea looked around the room, clinging to the bars of her cage. She wanted to get out.

"Where are you going to go, Kalea?" Jacob asked her, seeing her sad face. "You don't have a home."

To Kalea, this was true. She remembered vaguely a happy life, before the cage, but she had been too young for the memories to stick. The earliest memory that she could muster was her being thrown in the cage.

"C'mon, brat," Jacob smiled, cupping her cheek with her hand, "Smile a little, it's Christmas. You should be giving me presents. What and I going to get this year? A foot rub? A massage?"

"Nothing," Kalea growled, pulling away from her father. "I hate you!"

"Well," Jacob smirked, walking over to the hook beside the computer. Kalea's eyes widened in fear as she watched her father grab the belt, "looks like I'm the one giving you a massage."

"Daddy, that hurts me," Kalea pleaded, grabbing the bars to her cage as her father tried to pull her out. Jacob ripped her out aggressively and threw her onto the bed. Kalea quickly got up and tried to run, but Jacob grabbed onto her collar, snapping the belt on her back.

"This hurts?" he asked her, snapping the belt once more.

Kalea nodded, holding back the tears. Jacob knelt down in front of her, holding her arms in his rough hands, forcing her to look at him.

"I could do much worst to you, brat," he told her. "You're lucky I don't go to extremes with you. Now give me a massage, or you get the belt."

"You're not getting the money!" Kalea yelled, pulling away from her father. Jacob ran after her as Kalea tried to make it too the door. He caught her just in time and pulled her back, dragging her down the hard metal stairs, by the collar. He attacked the leash to her neck then tied the other end to one of the poles supporting the roof.

"I'm not a dog," Kalea frowned, pulling on her collar.

"Shut up," Jacob snapped, hitting her with the belt once more. "You're just as stubborn as your Aunt."

Kalea tugged on the collar once more as her father grabbed the cage. He brought it closer to her before untying her from the pole. He put her inside the cage, locking it up.

"Kalea I have half a mind to kill you right now," he muttered to her, pulling on her leash. "I can use your sister to get the money if worse comes to worse. Think before you disobey me again, got it, bitch?"

Kalea nodded weakly. Jacob grabbed the leash and pulled on it, chocking her as he laughed.

"Got it?" he yelled, kicking the cage forward. Kalea and the cage went tumbling over, before landing on the side. Kalea laid motionless on the ground from her father's aggressive behaviour.

"Maybe now she'll finally shut up," Jacob sighed, returning to his chair to watch her suffer.

Kalea curled into a ball and began rocking, trying to remember life before the cage.

"I don't wanna die," she muttered, "I don't wanna die... I don't wanna die."

---

"Tor, we've searched everywhere," Lily sighed, sitting on a bench by the side of the street. "She's not here!"

Tori looked down at her niece. Their feet were hurting and they were hungry as well, but neither one complained. Their priority was to find Kalea.

"She's gotta be around her somewhere," Tori smiled to her niece, keeping hope.

"Where?" Lily asked, "Where the hell is she going to hide? No one's seen her, no one's heard of her! She's gone! DEAD! Six feet under!"

"Under..." Tori frowned, turning away from her daughter.

"What?"

"We never checked underground!" Tori smiled grabbing her niece's arm and pulling her down an alley.

"Under... what?"

"When Kelly told us what happened between her and Jacob, she told me he mentioned his basement apartment!" Tori explained before she began throwing boxes around, looking for a door.

"He might be keeping Kalea there," Lily clued in, helping her aunt.

"Exactly!" Tori pushed a heavy box out of the way and stepped on something hard. She looked down, brushing off the dust and dirt before noticing it was a metal trapdoor.

"I got it," she whispered to her niece, opening the door quietly and walking in. "You coming?"

"You have to ask," Lily smirked.

---

Jacob heard footsteps down the stairs and quickly turned. He could have sworn her heard a hush, but no one was there.

"That was close," Tori whispered, pulling her hand off Lily's mouth. She noticed Jacob turning to look and quickly jumped off the stairs, taking Lily with her. She then pulled the girl behind a stack of boxes.

"Daddy's hearing things again, Kalea," Jacob laughed, looking over at his daughter.

"I don't wanna die," Kalea continued to chant.

Lily turned to her Aunt. She recognised that saying from the day of the flash three years before.

"What do we do?" she asked.

Tori smirked, stepping into the light as she called for Jordan's attention.

"Jackass, the kid belongs with me."

Kalea looked up when she heard then new voice in the room and smiled. She didn't recognise the woman standing before her, but the face was familiar.

Jacob stood up, clapping as he walked over to the cage.

"Three years on the dot," he smiled. "Not bad, Tori. Too bad I don't have a prize for you."

"_Call to the beast inside, bring out the cheetah!_" Lily yelled before a cheetah spirit smashed through the piles of boxes and rammed right into Jacob. The man screamed in pain as the cheetah pushed him up against the wall.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you now," Lily hissed, coming out of her hiding spot.

"I'm your father," Jacob smirked, thinking he had all the answers. He was soon going to find out just how wrong he was.

"You were never a father!" Lily yelled as her cheetah clawed at Jacob. "You left me, you left mom and you left Kalea!"

"I never left Kalea," Jacob smirked, pointing to the cage. Kalea looked over at him, her eyes filled with fear. "C'mon brat, tell them you want to stay with me."

Tori knelt down beside the cage, looking at her niece. Even if Kalea was thin, beaten, bloody and bruise, she was still beautiful to Tori. The blonde reached her hand inside the cage, waiting for Kalea to accept it.

"You don't want to live with him, do you?" she asked gently, carefully not to frighten her niece.

"Kalea, don't listen to this woman! She's going to hurt you!" Jacob yelled, before the cheetah pressed her paws against her chest. The claws dug into his skin as he howled in pain.

"SHUT UP!" Lily yelled.

"Lea... sweetheart," Tori called to the girl, still waiting to be able to touch Kalea. It had been three long years, and Tori was eager to have her niece home safe and sound. "I won't hurt you, I promise."

Tori reached into her bag and pulled out a tiara, "Look, I brought this," she smiled, giving the tiara to her niece. "It's yours, remember?"

Kalea shook her head, but accepted the tiara. She didn't know what to do with it, so Tori placed it on her head.

"There," she smiled, "You're a beautiful princess again."

Kalea looked up at the woman who had just called her beautiful. She hadn't been called beautiful in three years.

"You have to trust me, Kalea," Tori said softly, looking her niece in the eyes. "I love you, I would never hurt you."

"Keys are by the belt," Kalea whispered, pointing to the hook. Tori ran over, grabbing the keys to unlock the cage. As soon as she did, Kalea jumped out and into her arms, crying.

"I love you too, Aunt Tobi," she whispered.

Tori felt the tears burning her eyes. Kalea remember who she was. She had called her Aunt Tobi. Beforehand, Tori had wanted to teach Kalea to say her name properly, with the 'R' instead of the 'B', but at the moment, that 'B' sound was the most beautiful sound she had ever heard.

"Kalea, princess, you're not going to leave your dad like this are you?" Jacob winced as the claws dug in deeper.

Kalea turned away from her father, burying her face in her Aunt's shoulder. Lily called her cheetah back and watched as her father dropped to the ground in pain.

"You're done, Jacob," she yelled. "No more games, no more suffering."

"I can do what I want!" Jacob yelled, jumping up and attacking Lily. The dancer didn't have any time to react and was trampled by the angry man.

Jacob grabbed the belt and ran over to Lily, snapping it on her arm. Lily held her arm in pain as she looked up at her father.

"You're disguising," she hissed. She summoned her cheetah once more, attacking her father one last time before it returned.

Jacob laid on the floor in pain. Lily dropped to her knees beside him, taking the belt and wrapping it around his neck.

"Choose," she smirked. "Life, or death?"

She dropped the belt and turned to her Aunt and sister. Tori nodded, running out of the basement with both her girls.

Jacob screamed as he watched them go, before pulling on the belt, taking his own life.

---

"Aunt Tobi, stop," Kalea called as Tori and Lily ran into the alleyway. Tori respected her niece's wish and stopped in her tracks. She put the girl down, supporting her with one hand.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Is it over?" Kalea looked up at her Aunt with her now shinning blue eyes. Tori turned to Lily and smiled as they dropped down beside Kalea, pulling her in a hug.

"It's over, princess," Tori nodded. "It's finally over."


	12. Storybook Ending

Kalea had fallen asleep on the walk home, allowing Tori and Lily to gently place her in her bed, where Lily had been sleeping earlier that morning. The others had all come by after receive phone calls from the girls.

As Tori put Kalea down in the bed, she looked at her niece's frail form. She kissed Kalea's forehead, swearing to feed her as soon as she woke up.

The others watched from the door, with Casey holding Lily in his arms. She had begun crying as soon as she walked into the house with her sister, and he had taken it upon himself to comfort her.

"She's still beautiful," he whispered to Lily, squeezing her gently. Lily turned in his arms and looked up at him sadly.

"She shouldn't have had to go through all that," she said, putting her head on Casey's chest. "She was only two... she didn't know any better..."

"If you even think about suggesting to take her place, even if this whole thing is over with, then I will have to give you the puppy look you hate so much and tell you it's a stupid thought," Casey frowned.

"She was only two. No two year old should have to live through that! At least I would have had something to look back on. I wouldn't have been as weak..."

"He locked her in a cage," Casey said, "Anyone would have broken down, whether they were two, or eighteen. Your life is just as important as hers."

"I failed her, Casey..." Lily whispered. "I let her down..."

"She doesn't seem to care," Casey interrupted her, spinning her around, but still holding her close as he pointed to Kalea. "You see that smile. When I first saw her, in your arms, she had that same smile. She doesn't care that you failed her, because you came back for her. You did what any older sister should do. It may have taken three years, but you finally did what you were supposed to do."

Lily looked over at her sister, who was smiling happily in her sleep as she cuddled the stuffed cheetah Lily had given her when they first met.

"Thanks, Casey," Lily said, turning back to Casey.

"Anytime, Cheetah," Casey smiled.

Lily looked up at Casey, biting her lower lip before standing on her toes and pulling Casey in for a kiss. In the past three years, the two had gotten much closer. Feelings began to grow, and Lily could no longer push then aside.

Theo whistled when he saw his two friends kissing and began to nudge Casey playfully as they broke apart.

"Took you long enough," he whispered.

"Hey, I'm not about to move in on your girl the second you break up with her," Casey laughed, nudging Theo back. "Thanks for being okay with this."

"Like I said, what's done is done," Theo smiled, "She and I had a great time together, but we're just friends."

"Lily, why did you try to eat Casey?"

Lily turned to her sister and laughed, seeing the little girl rubbing her eyes as she sat up in bed. She grabbed Casey's hand and pulled him over to the bed.

"Because I like him, a lot," she explained.

"Like you love me?" Kalea asked.

"A different kind of love," Lily looked over at Casey and smiled, squeezing his hand, "but yeah, like I love you."

"You hungry, squirt?" Tori asked, helping Kalea out of bed. The little girl nodded, taking her Aunt and sister's hands.

"Very... but I don't wanna eat Lily..."

"You won't have to," Tori smiled. She pushed the girl forward slightly, "Aunt Kelly just went downstairs to make you something you loved when you were little, why don't you go find out what it is?"

Kalea beamed happily as she ran down the stairs, finding the kitchen in no time. She sat down in a chair as Kelly set a plate of grilled cheese down in front of her.

"Whoa!" Kalea smiled, digging into the food.

"Wait, wait," Kelly laughed, reaching over to the counter to grab two tiaras, one for Kalea, and one for herself. "I always keep my promises, Princess Kalea."

Upstairs, Dustin was feeling a little out of place. He was standing there, with his son attached to his leg, surrounded by people who loved Kalea, and were more than happy she was home. He felt the same way, but he knew he was the one who had caused her three years of suffering.

He gave Samuel to Shane before walking up to Tori.

"I know I've apologized a thousand times, and I'll apologize until the day I die, but I really am, 100%, truly and forever sorry about all this," he said.

Tori looked over at her best friend and pulled him into a hug.

"I know you are," she said. "You never wanted any of this to happen. You were upset that Kelly was gone. Kalea just happened to be at the wrong place, at the wrong time. I'm just happy she's back."

"I still feel like I owe you, Lily, and especially Kalea something though..." Dustin sighed.

"Promise you'll never leave," Tori said. "Kalea's going to need a dad now that hers is gone. Every little girl needs someone to look out for them. Think you can do that?"

"Dedicate my life that that little munchkin?" Dustin frowned. "I already have a son, and a wife, a job and my own life..."

Tori looked a little worried, but Dustin's smile eased it.

"Meh, I'll squeeze her in between Samuel and Kelly," he laughed.

"You're the best," Tori said, jumping into his arms.

"I know, I know, flattery will get you everywhere," Dustin laughed, hugging his friend.

"Hey, what are we gonna go about Jerkob?" Hunter asked.

"I kinda left him with a belt tied around his neck," Lily laughed nervously, playing with her hands. "I would think he killed himself by now... he seemed pretty pissed off about losing Kalea and the money."

"So, you assisted in his suicide?" Dominic frowned.

"I don't wanna think of it like that," Lily said, "maybe somewhere along the lines of... _oops, did I do that_?"

"Remind me to never get on your bad side," Casey laughed, pulling Lily back into his arms.

"You plan on trying?" Lily frowned, looking up at him. Casey frowned for a second and nodded.

"I'm a guy; it's what we do best."

"Aunt Tobi!" Kalea called, running up the stairs and into the room, right into her aunt's arms. "I just had a grilled cheese, like the princesses eat! It was yummy! Can I have another?"

Tori laughed, hugging her niece, "How many more?"

"A million, billion, bazillion!" Kalea giggled, stretching her arms wide to help emphasize the quantity. Tori smiled, rolling her eyes.

"I'll start you off with one," she said. "You don't want get sick."

"Aw, man," Kalea pouted.

"Hey, maybe after that, I can take you down the street," Lily smirked.

"Why?" Kalea frowned.

Lily leaned in, whispering into her sister's ear, "There's an ice-cream shop, with a million flavours."

"Whoa!" Kalea giggled, "Ice-"

"Shh," Lily covered her sister's hand with her mouth. "It has to be our little secret, okay? I'm going to buy you the biggest ice-cream cone ever. But you can't tell Aunt Tori, okay?"

Kalea nodded and hugged her sister.

"You're the bestest," she whispered in Lily's ear.

**A/N:** Short little ending to give this story the closure it needs. Everyone's happy, and all is forgiven. Let me know what you thought this!

Lily Hanson


End file.
